CEO of Iran's national carrier Iran Air, Farzaneh Sharafbafi, says the country’s aviation experts have managed to conduct the C-check of the first plane purchased from Airbus, A321, after the coming into force of the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“Relying on the power of domestic experts, we were recently able to conduct the overhaul (C-check) of the first Airbus delivered to Iran in the JCPOA era after numerous flights, which took around 11 days,” Sharafbafi said Sunday on the sidelines of an international exhibition on transportation as reported by Tasnim news agency.
C-Check is an inspection of a large majority of the aircraft's components that is done every 20-24 months.
Asked about the US sanctions against Iran and reports that some countries refuse to refuel Iranian aircraft due to the punitive measures, the aviation official said Iran Air does not have any problems in providing fuel for its aircraft in foreign flights.
On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, the nuclear deal that was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.
Trump on August 6 signed an executive order re-imposing many sanctions on Iran, three months after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.
He said the US policy is to levy “maximum economic pressure” on the country.
The second batch of the US sanctions against the Islamic Republic took effect on November 4.
The Airbus A321 arrived in the Iranian capital early 2017 after it took off from the German city of Hamburg with Iranian pilots.
The 189-seat plane was the first of 100 ordered from the company, only 3 of which were delivered. The rest of the contract was cancelled after the US leaving the nuclear accord.
During a January 2016 visit to Paris by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Tehran signed a major contract with Airbus worth about $27 billion to buy 100 planes.
While Western plane makers are very keen on trade with Iran, Washington still demands that even non-American manufacturers wishing to sell to Iran obtain an export license if their products include materials made in the United States. Airbus, based in Europe, buys more than 40 percent of all its aircraft parts from the US.
Iran sealed another deal in June worth around $25 billion with the US aerospace heavyweight, Boeing, for the purchase of 80 passenger planes. None of which has been given to Tehran due to the renewed sanctions.
Iran has received 16 aircraft, including 13 French-Italian ATR since the deal was signed in 2015.