“The future of business aviation in Iran: dawn of a new era” was one of the panel discussions at the Iranian Aviation Forum held in London on 12 – 13 September, which addressed the challenges, risks and opportunities for the Iranian civil aviation industry in the post-sanctions era.

Speakers at the conference agreed that commercial aviation would be the first area to open up with business aviation playing “catch up”. There are currently just 20 corporate jets registered in Iran, the bulk of which are early generation aircraft with a high proportion operated for the government or military. The oldest operational aircraft is a 47-year-old Lockheed Jetstar.

While there is potential for private charter flights into Iran at the same time as the opening of commercial airline routes and fleets, speakers agreed that the import of corporate jets remains out of the question under current US Office of Foreign Assets Control restrictions.