TEHRAN- Iran will make air taxi operational for the first time in the country by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2021), the secretary of public aviation committee of Iran Airports and Air Navigation Company told IRIB.

Ramin Kashef-Azar said if the required air operator's certificate (AOC) will be received from Iran’s Flight Inspection Services Center within the coming three months, the first air taxi will start operation by the year end.

An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a national aviation authority (NAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets and system in place to ensure the safety of its employees and the general public.

Iran has also unveiled its first domestically-made mobile air traffic control (ATC) tower recently.

Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Eslami unveiled the ATC tower in a ceremony on July 27.

The unveiling ceremony was attended by senior officials including the transport minister, the Head of Iran Airports and Air Navigation Company Siavash Amirmokri, as well as Defense Minister Amir Hatami.

As reported, the mentioned tower has been designed and constructed by Iran Electronics Industries (known as SAIRAN), which is a state-owned subsidiary of the Defense Ministry. It is a diversified organization with operations in electronics, optics, electro-optics, communications, computers, and semiconductors.

Speaking in the ceremony, Eslami underlined the significance of this achievement and said: “This is the starting point for utilizing the domestic capacities more widely in all aspects of transportation including roads, rail, sea, and air, and move towards an integrated and intelligent transportation system in the country.”

MA/MA