Iran Airtour is a privately-owned Iranian airline that was launched in 1973. Its main base is Mashhad Airport.
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| Founded | 1973[1] | ||||||
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| Operating bases | Mashhad Shahid Hasheminejad International Airport | ||||||
| Destinations | 23 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Tehran, Iran | ||||||
| Key people | Mr. Majid Shekari (Owner), Reza Mousavi (CEO) | ||||||
| Employees | 1300 | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
History edit
Foundation and early years edit
Iran Airtour is one of Iran's private airlines, established in 1973 by Iran Air (Persian: هواپیمایی جمهوری اسلامی ایران) with the aim of launching tours to the cities of Iran and different countries. In 1982, Iran Airtour started scheduled domestic tours from all over Iran to Mashhad. Two years later, the airline started to develop foreign tours to China, UAE, India, Singapore and Malaysia.[citation needed]
Iran Airtours flight activity as an independent airline started in 1992 in Mashhad, which became the operations center of the airline. A direct air link from Mashhad to the centers of 13 provinces ensued. Iran Airtour was also responsible for operating flights from different cities to Mecca for pilgrimage, as well as regional flights with 19 aircraft to Damascus, Stockholm, Moscow, and Ashgabat.[citation needed]
Development since 2010 edit
Until 2010, Iran Airtour was one of the state-owned airline companies in Iran, but subsequently, in accordance with Article 44 of the Constitutional law, ownership was assigned to Hesayar Co., a subsidiary of the Iranian Ministry of Defence. Because four of five consecutive payment checks from Hesayar Co. bounced for insufficient funds, the original assignment was canceled. After another auction in 2016, the airline was conceded to the private sector.[2]
In October 2021, Iran Airtour got permission to fly in the European airspace, making it the second Iranian airline to be able to do so.[citation needed] Iran Airtour is also one of the companies that has a license for aviation training in Iran (ATO) from the National Aviation Organization. Iran Airtour is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and holds the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), audited by IATA-approved auditors. Iran Airtour Airlines consists of more than 1300 specialized and skilled personnel in different parts.[citation needed]
Destinations edit
Iran Airtour's primary base is Mashhad Airport.[3] As of April 2023, Iran Airtour operates scheduled services to the following destinations.[4]
Fleet edit
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As of June 2023 the Iran Airtour fleet consisted of the following aircraft.[5][6][needs update]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | E | Total | ||||
| Airbus A300-600 | 4 | — | 22 | 258 | 280 | |
| Airbus A310-300 | 4 | — | 18 | 232 | 250 | |
| Airbus A320-200 | 1 | — | 170 | 170 | ||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 4 | — | 160 | 160 | ||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 1 | — | 160 | 160 | ||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-87 | 1 | — | 130 | 130 | ||
| Total | 15 | — | ||||
As of 2023, Iran Airtour was one of the last operators of the passenger variant of the Airbus A310.[7]
Accidents and incidents edit
Since 1993, Iran AirTour has had three fatal aircraft accidents.
- On February 8, 1993, a Tupolev Tu-154, Iran Airtour Flight 962, shortly after departure from Tehran International Airport, crashed into a Sukhoi Su-24 fighter of the Iranian Air Force which was landing. In this accident, all 133 people – both pilots of the Su-24 and Tu-154, all 12 crew members, and 119 passengers on board – died. The main cause of this accident was the Sukhoi Su-24 fighter pilot's error.[8]
- On February 12, 2002, a Tupolev Tu-154, Iran Airtour Flight 956, flying from Tehran to Khorramabad, crashed into the Sefid Kooh mountains during heavy rain, snow and dense fog. All 12 crew members and 107 passengers died.[9]
- On September 1, 2006, a Tupolev Tu-154, Iran Airtour Flight 945, flying from Bandar Abbas to Mashhad, with 11 crew and 137 passengers on board, burst into flames upon landing at Mashhad International Airport, 28 out of the 148 passengers and crew died.[10]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Iran Airtour Airlines". iat.aero. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ IRAN AIRTOUR .IR
- ^ "World airline directory 2009: Part two, C–L". Flight International: 65. 7–13 April 2009. ISSN 0015-3710.
- ^ Destinations Archived 12 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine iat.aero
- ^ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World. October 2019: 17.
- ^ "Airbus orders and deliveries" (XLS). Airbus S.A.S. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ Pande, Pranjal; Hardiman, Jake (11 April 2022). "40 Years Of Flight: A Look At The Operators Still Flying The Airbus A310 In 2022". Simple Flying. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ^ Can News [dead link]
- ^ بازخوانی-سقوط-توپولف-۱۵۴-ایران-ایرتور airlinepress.ir
- ^ "سایت خبری هرمز".
External links edit
Media related to Iran Airtour at Wikimedia Commons
