Aviation History
Iranian civil aviation began in the 1920s with foreign-operated air routes (including services run by the German firm Junkers) and matured with the founding of Iranian Airways in 1944 and the rival Persian Air Services in 1954. The two merged on 24 February 1961 to form Iran National Airlines Corporation, known as Iran Air, which modernized rapidly with jet aircraft through the 1960s and 1970s. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and especially after the intensification of US and international sanctions from the 1990s through the 2010s, Iran's civil aviation sector has been severely constrained in acquiring new Western-built aircraft and spare parts, leading to an aging fleet and periodic safety concerns. A brief window of sanctions relief under the 2015 nuclear deal allowed Iran Air to order new Airbus, Boeing and ATR aircraft, but most of these deals collapsed after the United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, pushing Iranian carriers toward domestic parts production and use of aging or gray-market aircraft.
The German airline Junkers began operating some of the first scheduled air routes across Persia in the 1920s.
Iranian Airways was established as one of Iran's first domestically owned airlines.
Iranian Airways merged with Persian Air Services to form the Iran National Airlines Corporation (HOMA), known as Iran Air.
Iran Air took delivery of its first jet aircraft, including Boeing 707s and 727s, modernizing its fleet.
Following the Islamic Revolution, Iran's civil aviation sector became subject to escalating US and international sanctions restricting access to Western aircraft and parts.
Under the 2015 nuclear agreement, Iran Air signed deals to acquire new Airbus, Boeing and ATR aircraft, its first major fleet renewal in decades.
The US withdrawal from the nuclear deal and reimposition of sanctions caused most of the 2016-era aircraft orders to be cancelled, deepening the fleet-renewal crisis.
Facing continued sanctions, Iranian entities such as the Iran Aviation Industries Organization expanded efforts to domestically manufacture aircraft parts to sustain the aging fleet.
Iran Air · Mahan Air · Iran Aseman Airlines · Caspian Airlines · Qeshm Air
Compiled from general public/encyclopedic sources (Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Iranica, aviation trade press); Iran's civil aviation has operated under Western sanctions in varying degrees since 1979, and current fleet and route details should be treated as uncertain and subject to change.