Siavash Amirmokri added that flights from the airports of the UAE and Qatar to China, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the United States are short and economical when they use the Iranian airspace, Fars News Agency reported.
“Likewise, optimal flight routes from Eastern Europe to South East Asia are over Iran’s skies, but at present only airlines such as Air India are flying over Iran; European airlines are avoiding these routes,” he said.
Iran Airports Company’s revenues from overflight charges have decreased by 55% since the outbreak of Covid-19 in early 2020, compared with the same period of the year before, Amirmokri said recently.
"Between 750 to 800 flights used to pass through Iran's airspace each day before the outbreak of the virus. The number has decreased to 130 at present," he was quoted as saying by News.mrud.ir.
The official, however, expressed optimism over the gradual return of international flights to Iran’s airspace by saying, "We expect the number to reach 400 to 450 flights each day."
Experts believe Iran's aviation industry, which was harshly hit by the spread of the new coronavirus, needs at least three years to make a comeback.
Iran Airports Company’s revenues from overflight charges decreased by 46% or $69 million in the first half of 2020 compared with the same period of 2019, earlier reports said.
The official noted that optimistic projections put the number of aircraft flying over Iranian airspace in 2020 at 112,000 and expected revenues to reach 10,000 billion rials ($40 million).
Statistics released by Iran Airport Company indicate a 50% year-on-year decline in the total number of foreign flights using Iranian airspace during the month to Dec. 20.
A total of 12,322 foreign flights passed through Iran's airspace during the month, which stood at 12,068 in the previous month.
The total number of overflights reached 76,509 for the first three quarters of the current Iranian year (started March 20), indicating a 67% drop compared with the corresponding period of last year, mostly due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent suspension of airlines' operations.