Page 50 - IRANRptFeb19
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on terrorist activities from the Iranian side and Iranian entities in Europe in the past," he added.
Iran's second-biggest airline, Mahan Air, is to commence once-weekly flights from Tehran to Russian port city Rostov-on-Don from January 4, according to Aviation Iran.
Mahan will become the first airline to operate direct flights to Rostov-on-Don—located 32km (20 miles) from the Sea of Azov and near the border with Ukraine—from Iran. The airline is already present on the Russian market as it flies regularly to Moscow and St Petersburg. However, the announced flight to Rostov-on-Don in the depth of winter has left many Iranians at a loss as to the purpose of the service.
Getting from Tehran to the Russian city of 1.1mn by plane currently takes about nine hours via an Aeroflot connection in Moscow. The new flight should cut the journey duration to four hours.
Mahan flies to several destinations that the main carrier of the Islamic Republic, IranAir, does not.
50 IRAN Country Report February 2019 www.intellinews.com
