TEHRAN ??A new Iranian airline will start operation by the next two weeks, an official with the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization announced on Monday.
Mohammad Khodakarami told ISNA that the airline owns three planes and will launch flights by the next two weeks.
Applicants, who want to establish airlines, should be able to buy at least three planes with less than 10 years of age, he added.
In May, Iranian Civil Aviation Organization head Hamidreza Pahlavani announced that two new Iranian airlines will start operation in the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 21.
A number of planes will be added to the national fleet in the current year, he said, adding that 19 planes were added to the fleet last year, the Mehr News Agency quoted Pahlavani as saying.
In March, Pahlavani said that Iran has added two Airbus 340 planes, three Fokker 100 planes, and two other planes of different model to its national air fleet.
He added that currently 18 airlines are in operation in Iran.
In April 2012, the Fars News Agency reported that Iran plans to increase the number of aircraft and replace 25 outdated planes with new ones.
The Civil Aviation Organization will remove 25 planes with over 30 years of service from the fleet, most of which are Boeing 707 and Boeing 727 models, according to the report.