Iran to use only Airbus planes in EU flights

Iran’s flag carrier, Iran Air will only use Airbus-made aircrafts for its flights to the EU, same as the past, Shahrokh Noushabadi, the head of the press service of the Iran Air, said.

He made the remarks while reacting to reports about ban on flying the Iranian airline’s fleet of Boeing and Fokker to the EU sky, Tasnim news agency reported.

Iran Air has never used its Boeing and Fokker fleet in EU route, because it is not economically justified, Noushabadi said.

He further said that the airline has always used Airbus 340 and 310 aircrafts in flights to Europe, adding the company uses Boeing 747 for long routes such as Beijing and Malaysia.

“We use our Fokker fleet for domestic flights and to the Persian Gulf countries only,” he said.

On June 16, the European Commission confirmed the partial lifting of a ban on Iran Air. The step will allow most of the airline's planes to fly in and out of the EU territory, except its fleets of Boeing 747-200s, Boeing 747SPs and Fokker 100s.

"I am happy to announce that we are now also able to allow most aircraft from Iran Air back into European skies," said the EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc.

In 2010, the carrier was restricted to operating just 12 of its 43 aircraft after airport inspections revealed serious safety problems.

/By Trend/