Page 57 - IRANRptAug20

in recent memory.
The sale of vehicles comes after delays in reopening the portal in recent weeks due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in Iran. It partially shut down auto production. Another factor in the delay was a recent hike in vehicle prices brought in by the buyers’ protection commission.
Following a successful registration, buyers are in with a chance of purchasing one of four models via an online lottery. Apart from IKCO vehicles there are two Peugeot models,
A buyer that wins through and obtains an option to purchase a car has 48 hours to pay the remainder of the deposit.
9.2.3​Aviation corporate news
IranAir to start Tehran-Manchester flights from July
Approval granted for new Iranian airline but operator’s certificate awaited
IranAir, the national airline of the Islamic Republic, is set to commence flights to Manchester, England, from July 4, the company has announced.
The once-weekly Tehran-Manchester-Tehran service will be operated with one of the company’s few new Airbus A330s which IranAir received prior to the US introduced sanctions that stopped further deliveries.
An example return journey ticket was priced at Iranian rial (IRR) 129.1mn (€577 at the free market rate) on the IranAir booking website.
IranAir flies three weekly flights to London Heathrow, thus Manchester is its second destination in England.
The connection between Tehran and Manchester was previously covered by second biggest Iranian airline Mahan Airlines; however, it had its UK landing licence revoked, with aircraft safety fears given as the official reason for the move.
The introduction of the Manchester-Tehran flight is perhaps somewhat curious as demand for flights to Iran from the UK remains low, partly given the combination of poor press generated by the detention of British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe, who remains under house arrest, and resurgent difficulties with the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.
An approval for a new Iranian airline has been granted by the Iran Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), but the carrier is yet to receive its operator’s certificate (AOC), Aviation Iran reported on May 17.
Iran plays host to several small airlines, all of them created for domestic flights. Aeroplane stock, however, remains difficult to come by and is invariably ad hoc. Fleets entirely depend on who will sell Iran planes and components—sellers are deterred by sanctions put in place by the US. Association of Iranian Airlines secretary Masoud Asadi-Samani said the new airline owner was a former senior member of the ICAO, but he did not disclose the person’s name.
Asadi-Samani was cited as saying: "A new airline has obtained an agreement in principle from the national aviation organisation, but has not yet received the AOC from this organisation."
The airline has not yet been able to import aircraft, he added.
News of the new airline comes amid a resumption of flights to Europe and elsewhere by Iranian airlines who have been hindered by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Flights to Amsterdam from Tehran resumed last week for the first time in two months. The operator is IranAir, the national airline.
Flights to Thailand and other destinations are expected to resume in coming weeks, Asadi-Samani said.
57​ IRAN Country Report August 2020 www.intellinews.com