TEHRAN- The secretary of the Association of Iranian Airlines (AIA) has said that the country’s airports are prepared for the operation of air taxis.

Maqsoud As'adi Samani also reiterated that the ground is prepared for the private sector’s investment making in this due.

Emphasizing the necessity of operating air taxis in the country, the official said, “If we want to develop the aviation industry in the country, operating air taxis is one of the ways to achieve this goal.”

“We have some small airports in the country that are idle or operate with very few flights; we can use these airports for operating the air taxis”, As'adi Samani further noted.

Last month, the secretary of the public aviation committee of Iran Airports and Air Navigation Company had announced that 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).

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 this year.

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