BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 20. The 95% of Iran’s core airport infrastructure remains fully functional and in stable condition, Maghsoud Asadi Samani, secretary of the country’s Association of Airline Companies, told reporters, Trend reports.
He noted that reports claiming serious damage to 40-60 passenger aircraft are inaccurate. “At most, around 20 passenger aircraft have sustained serious damage,” Samani said.
According to him, prior to the escalation, approximately 150 out of 250–300 passenger aircraft in the country were operational, while the rest were grounded due to technical issues. Currently, about 130 passenger aircraft remain in service.
Samani added that due to reduced tourist demand under current conditions, it is unlikely to be a shortage of aircraft in the short term. However, he emphasized that the government should plan fleet renewal within a six-month timeframe.
Meanwhile, as no tangible progress was made in the nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, the situation escalated on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched military airstrikes against Iran. In retaliation, Iran initiated missile and drone strikes targeting Israeli and U.S. installations in the region. Following these developments, a two-week ceasefire agreement was brokered on April 7 through Pakistan's mediation. However, during subsequent talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad on April 11, no consensus was reached.
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