Mehrabad International Airport
Tehran Mehrabad International Airport (Persian: فرودگاه مهرآباد) (IATA: THR, ICAO: OIII), also known as Tehran-Mehrabad, is an airport that serves Tehran, Iran. It was the primary airport of Tehran in both international and domestic passenger traffic but has been replaced by the new Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport for all of its scheduled international traffic. Mehrabad however is still by far the busiest airport in Iran in terms of passenger traffic and aircraft movements, handling 13,617,094 passengers in 2014. It is capable of handling wide-body aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A340-600. Besides, it is also being used for all the Air transports for the Heads of State and Government of Iran, which operates by Meraj Airlines in the VIP's and CIP's Terminal.
History
The airport was first time used as an airfield for aviation club planes in 1938, then after World War II along with becoming internationally recognized by joining Iran civil aviation organization to the ICAO in 1949, the airport also became an air force base.
Newly delivered Republic F-84G Thunderjets (fighter) and Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star (trainer) arrived, May 1957 and April 1956, respectively. Iranian Air Force. In 1955 just after construction of first asphalt paved runway a new terminal building (Current Terminal 1) for both international and domestic flights was designed and constructed. Among the designers of the initial modern buildings of the airport was the famous architect William Pereira.[3][4]
The new Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA) was scheduled to open in 2004 with international flights gradually changing from Mehrabad starting with flights to countries bordering the Persian Gulf. After IKA's initial opening in May 2004, due to complications, it was not until the end of 2007 that the plan to move the majority of international flights to the new airport was completed.[5] All international flights have now been moved to IKA.[6]
Facilities
Mehrabad International Airport consists of six terminals:
- VIP Terminal is used for Meraj Airlines for Governmental flights.
- CIP Terminal can be used at a passenger's request. The Terminal is open to all requests.
- Terminal 1 is only used for the departures of Kish Air and Zagros Airlines.
- Terminal 2 handles all flights of Iran Air, Iran Air Tours, Meraj Airlines, Qeshm Air and Ata Airlines and for arrivals of Kish Airlines and Zagros Airlines, but all the Jet bridges are only being used for Meraj Airlines. It also used for all cargo operations.
- Terminals 4 and 6 handle departures and arrivals respectively - for all other airlines.
- Terminals 3 and 5 are only used during the peak time Hajj seasons.
- Terminal Crew is used for the flight crews of all airlines.
An aircraft engineering and maintenance company Fajr Ashian, has a maintenance hangar adjacent to main airport premises. The hangar is linked to Mehrabad Airport through a taxiway crossing "Tehran-Karaj" Highway. Fajr Ashian takes care of Aircraft of many companies e.g. Iran Air, Mahan Air, Meraj Airlines.
It is served by two stations on the Tehran Metro:
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
| Airlines | Destinations | Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Ata Airlines | Ahwaz, Ardabil, Bandar Abbas, Kish Island, Mashhad, Shiraz, Tabriz, Urmia[7] | 2 |
| Atrak Air | Bandar Abbas, Bojnord, Kish Island, Mashhad, Shiraz | 4 & 6 |
| Caspian Airlines | Ahwaz, Mashhad, Sanandaj[8] | 4 & 6 |
| Iran Air | Abadan, Ahwaz, Ardabil, Bandar Abbas, Birjand, Bushehr, Qeshm Island, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Khorramabad, Kish Island, Lar, Mashhad, Rasht, Sari, Shiraz, Tabriz, Urmia, Yazd, Zahedan | 2 |
| Iran Air Tours | Abadan, Ahwaz, Ardabil,[9] Bandar Abbas, Chabahar, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Mashhad, Rasht, Shahrekord, Shiraz, Tabriz, Urmieh, Yazd, Zahedan | 2 |
| Iran Aseman Airlines | Abadan, Ahwaz, Ardabil, Asalouyeh, Bam, Birjand, Bandar Abbas, Bojnord, Bushehr, Gachsaran, Gorgan, Qeshm Island, Ilam, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Kish Island, Khoy, Lamerd, Lar, Mashhad, Rafsanjan, Ramsar, Rasht, Sabzevar, Sahand, Sanandaj, Shiraz, Tabriz, Urmieh, Yasouj, Yazd | 4 & 6 |
| Iranian Naft Airlines | Abadan, Aghajari, Ahwaz, Dezful, Isfahan, Kharg Island, Mahshahr, Yazd | 2 |
| Kish Air | Abadan, Ahwaz, Asalouyeh, Bandar Abbas, Hamadan, Isfahan, Kish Island, Mahshahr, Mashhad, Qeshm, Shiraz, Shahrekord, Tabriz | 1 & 2 |
| Mahan Air | Ardabil, Asalouyeh, Bam, Bandar Abbas, Birjand, Bojnord, Dezful, Gachsaran, Ilam, Jiroft, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorramabad, Kish Island, Mahshahr, Mashhad, Qeshm, Rafsanjan, Rasht, Sari, Sanandaj, Shahrekord, Shahrood, Shiraz, Sirjan, Tabas, Zabol, Zahedan, Kalaleh | 4 & 6 |
| Meraj Airlines | Bandar Abbas, Dezful, Kermanshah, Kish Island, Mashhad, Qeshm Island, Shiraz, Tabriz | 2 |
| Qeshm Airlines | Abadan, Ahwaz, Bandar Abbas, Chabahar, Isfahan, Kish Island, Mahshahr, Mashhad, Qeshm Island, Sanandaj, Shiraz | 2 |
| Taban Air | Ahwaz, Isfahan, Khorramabad, Kish Island, Mashhad | 4 & 6 |
| Zagros Airlines | Abadan, Ahwaz, Isfahan, Mashhad, Kish Island, Shiraz, Sirri Island | 1 & 2 |
Cargo
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Iran Aseman Airlines Cargo | Abadan, Ahwaz, Ardabil, Asalouyeh, Bam, Birjand, Bojnord, Bushehr, Gachsaran, Gorgan, Qeshm Island, Ilam, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Kish Island, Khoy, Lamerd, Lar, Mashhad, Rafsanjan, Ramsar, Rasht, Sabzevar, Sahand, Sanandaj, Shiraz, Tabas, Tabriz, Yasouj, Yazd |
| Iran Air Cargo | Abadan, Ahwaz, Ardabil, Bandar Abbas, Birjand, Bushehr, Qeshm Island, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Khorramabad, Kish Island, Lar, Mashhad, Rasht, Sari, Shiraz, Tabriz, Tehran-Imam Khomeini, Urmia, Yazd, Zahedan |
| Mahan Air | Ardabil, Asalouyeh, Bandar Abbas, Birjand, Dezful, Iranshahr, Isfahan, Kerman, Khorramabad, Kish Island, Mahshahr, Mashhad, Shiraz, Sirjan, Zabol |
Other facilities
The airport has the head offices of Iran Air and the Iran Civil Aviation Organization.[10][11][12] In addition the Iranian Airports Holding Company also has its head office at Mehrabad Airport, nearby Terminal 2.[13]
Accidents and incidents
- On 15 March 1974, a Sterling Airways Sud Aviation Caravelle suffered a landing gear failure. As the aircraft was taxiing, the right main landing gear failed, causing the right wing to hit the ground and catch fire. 15 passengers were killed in the accident.
- On 5 December 1974, a roof collapsed, killed 17 and injured dozens more.[14]
- On 20 April 2005, a Boeing 707-3J9C had an accident while landing in Mehrabad airport. After touchdown on runway 29L problems with the undercarriage (failure of landing gear or a burst tire) caused the Boeing 707 to slide off the runway into the Kan River. Three passengers were killed after they fell in the river during the evacuation.
- On 19 June 2005, a Northwest Airlines DC-10 en route from Mumbai to Amsterdam made an emergency landing at Mehrabad Airport due to an indication of a fire in the cargo hold, which turned out to be a false alarm. The plane left 8 hours later without incident.[15][16]
- On 6 December 2005, an Iranian Air Force C-130 Hercules crashed in Tehran shortly after taking off from the airport.
- On 2 January 2008, an Iran Air Fokker 100 (EP-IDB) plane carrying 100 passengers skidded off the runway after part of its wing caught fire when attempting to takeoff on a domestic flight to Shiraz Airport. Its wheels were disconnected and part of its wing caught fire. No one was injured in the accident, which happened around 07:30 IRST amid heavy snowfall at the airport.[17]
- On 10 August 2014, Sepahan Airlines Flight 5915, an HESA IrAn-140, crashed shortly after take off from Mehrabad International Airport. The aircraft experienced engine problems and had turned back to the airport 4 minutes after takeoff, but was unable to maintain altitude and crashed into a residential area. 39 people were killed and 9 were hospitalized.[18]
- On 15 October, 2015, a Mahan Air Boeing 747 en route to Bandar Abbas in southern Iran lost pieces of an engine after take-off, returning for a successful emergency landing. None of the 300 people on board were injured.[19]
In Popular Culture
- The 1965 movie The Poppy Is Also a Flower, directed by Terence Young, was partially shot at the airport.
- The 2011 video game Battlefield 3 features a mission called "Going Hunting" which includes a bombing run made on the airport.
- The 2011 movie "Argo", directed by Ben Affleck also featured Airport.
See also
- Iran Civil Aviation Organization
- Transport in Iran
- List of airports in Iran
- List of the busiest airports in Iran
- List of airlines of Iran
- Meraj Airlines
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
- ↑ http://mehrabad.airport.ir/office/pages/about
- ↑ "Default". Statistics.airport.ir. 2016-02-07. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
- ↑ "Thomas Kellner - Photography in Art: Pereira, William". Tkellner.com. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
- ↑ The Modern Airport Terminal: New Approaches to Airport Architecture. Brian Edwards. Taylor & Francis, 2005. ISBN 978-0-415-24812-9 pp.72
- ↑ "Iran international flights switch to new airport". The Economic Times. October 28, 2007. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
- ↑ Rezaee, Siavash (2007-10-30). "President of National Civil Aviation Organization in an interview with "Iran": small airlines will be eliminated" (in Persian). Iran-e Eqtesadi. p. 2.
- ↑ مهرداد شادمان منش-حسین صفدری. "هواپیمایی آتا". ataair.ir.
- ↑ "برقراری پرواز تهران -سنندج با هواپیمایی کاسپین". سایت خبری خطوط هوایی ایران و جهان.
- ↑ "پروازهای فرودگاه اردبیل به تهران افزایش یافت.". سایت خبری خطوط هوایی ایران و جهان.
- ↑ "ارتباط با هما Archived June 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.." IranAir. Retrieved on 12 January 2011. "آدرس : تهران ، جاده مخصوص كرج ، بلوار فرودگاه ،ادارات مركزي هما ، ساختمان پشتيباني ، طبقه دوم ، اتاق 217"
- ↑ "Contact IranAir Archived May 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.." IranAir. Retrieved on 12 January 2011. "Address: No.221,Second Floor,Public Relations,Support Services BLd., IranAir H.Q.,Mehrabad Airport,Tehran,Iran."
- ↑ "Aircraft Accident/ Incident Report Form New Edition Archived March 31, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.." Iranian Civil Aviation Organization. Retrieved on 12 January 2011. "vice president of civil Aviation in flight standard, Civil Aviation Organization, Mehrabad international airport, Tehran, Iran."
- ↑ "Contact Us." Iranian Airports Holding Company. Retrieved on 31 January 2012. "آدرس:تهران - فرودگاه مهرآباد -جنب ترمينال 2 - ساختمان مركزي شركت فرودگاههاي كشور"
- ↑ The Iranian History Article :The Roof Collapsed At Mehrabad Airport
- ↑ "CNN.com - Transcripts". cnn.com.
- ↑ "Episode 4: Bo Corby & NWA Flight 41 into Tehran". flightpodcast.com.
- ↑ "Iran Air plane skids off runway, passengers safe". AFP. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
- ↑ "At Least 39 Killed in Iran Plane Crash". Reuters. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ↑ "747 plane engine snaps off in Iran flight, no injuries". msn.com.
External links
Media related to Mehrabad International Airport at Wikimedia Commons- Official website
- Current weather for OIII at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for THR at Aviation Safety Network