Mehrabad Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Mehrabad Airport
nativename-a = فرودگاه مهرآباد


IATA = THR
ICAO = OIII
type = Joint (Public/Military)
owner =
operator =
city-served =
location = Tehran, Iran
elevation-f = 3,962
elevation-m = 1,208
website =
r1-number = 09/27
r1-length-f = 1,556
r1-length-m = 474
r1-surface = Concrete
r2-number = 11L/29R
r2-length-f = 13,098
r2-length-m = 3,992
r2-surface = Asphalt
r3-number = 11R/29L
r3-length-f = 13,248
r3-length-m = 4,038
r3-surface = Asphalt
footnotes =

Mehrabad Airport ( _fa. فرودگاه مهرآباد) Airport codes|THR|OIII is an airport that serves Tehran, Iran. It was the primary airport of Tehran but has been replaced by Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA) in most of its international flights. It is located much closer to the city center than IKA.

Training, maintenance and engineering facilities of Iran's National Carrier Iran Air, Iran Aseman Airlines, and Saha Airlines are located at this airport.

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. Mahan Air, Iran Air.

The change of international flights to IKA, finished in 2004, was gradual, starting with flights to countries bordering the Persian Gulf. All international flights have now been moved to IKA except flights to Saudi Arabia for Hajj and Umrah. [cite news|last=Rezaee|first=Siavash|title=President of National Civil Aviation Organization in an interview with "Iran": small airlines will be eliminated|language=Persian|publisher="Iran-e Eqtesadi"|page=2|date=2007-10-30]

Airlines and destinations

Terminal 1

It is no longer in use due to the diversion of international flights to Imam Khomeini International Airport

Terminal 2

*Air Atlanta Icelandic (Iceland, Luxembourg)
*Cargolux (Dubai, Luxembourg, Hong Kong)
*Dragonair Cargo (Chengdu, Hong Kong)
*Iran Air (Ahvaz, Ardabil, Bandar Abbas, Birjand, Bushehr, Gheshm, Isfahan, Kish Island, Lar, Mashad, Orumieh, Rasht, Shahre-Kord, Shiraz, Tabriz, Yazd, Zahedan)
*Iran Air Tours (Abadan, Ahvaz, Bandar Abbas, Chabahar, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Khorramabad, Mashad, Rasht, Sari, Shahrekord, Shiraz, Tabriz, Tehran, Urmia, Yazd, Zahedan)
*Lufthansa Cargo (Leipzig, Sharjah)
*Turkmenistan Airlines (Ashkhabad)

Terminal 3

* Iranian Air Force

Terminal 4

Domestic Departures
*Caspian Airlines (Ahvaz, Kish Island, Mashhad, Tabriz)
*Eram Air (Kish Island, Mashad, Tabriz)
*Iran Aseman Airlines (Abadan, Ahvaz, Ardabil, Asalouyeh, Bam, Birjand, Bojnord, Bushehr, Gorgan, Gheshm, Ilaam, Kermanshah, Kish Island, Khoy, Lamerd, Lar, Mashad, Muscat, Rafsanjan, Ramsar, Rasht, Sabzevar, Sahand, Sanandaj, Shiraz, Tabas, Tabriz, Yasouj, Yazd)
*Iranian Air Transport (Ahvaz)
*Kish Air (Mashad, Shiraz, Shahrekord, Ahvaz, Isfahan, Hamadan, Bandar Abbas, Mahshahr, Asalouyeh, Abadan, Tabriz, Qeshm, Kish Island)
*Mahan Air (Asalouyeh, Birjand, Bandar Abbas, Dezful, Iranshahr, Isfahan, Kerman, Kish Island, Mahshahr, Mashad, Shiraz, Sirjan, Zabol)
*Saha Airlines (Asallouyeh, Mashad, Kish Island, Shiraz)
*Taban Air (Mashad, Shiraz, Ahvaz, Isfahan, Birjand, Sarakhs, Kermanshah, Zahedan, Chabahar, Yazd, Khark Island, Kish Island)

Hajj Terminal (terminal 5)

For 2007-08 Hajj/Umrah season a new terminal with a greater capacity and improved facilities is currently in use (all services to Jeddah and Madinah)
*Iran Air
*Mahan Air
*Saudi Arabian Airlines

Terminal 6

Domestic Arrivals

Accidents and incidents

*On Sunday July 3, 1988, towards the end of the Iran–Iraq War, an Airbus A300B2-203 flying Iran Air Flight 655 (a commercial flight operated by Iran Air that flew from Bandar Abbas, Iran to Dubai, UAE) was shot down by the U.S. Navy guided missile cruiser USS "Vincennes" between Bandar Abbas and Dubai, killing all 290 passengers and crew aboard, including 38 non-Iranians and 66 children. The "Vincennes" was inside Iranian territorial waters at the time. The case is referred to as "Iran Air Flight 655", which overshadowed U.S.-Iran relations for many years.

*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 a landing gear or tyre burst) 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. No American airliners had landed in Iran since the revolution. The plane left 8 hours later without incident. [ [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0506/19/sun.02.html CNN.com - Transcripts ] ]

*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.cite web|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iCZFq3IgeJJyAjQSULFgE7WMaVQA|title=Iran Air plane skids off runway, passengers safe|publisher=AFP|accessdate=2008-01-05|language=English]

References

* [http://www.mehrabadairport.ir/ Mehrabad Airport] (official web site)
* A-Z World Airports: [http://azworldairports.com/airports/p1770thr.htm Mehrabad Airport (THR/OIII)]
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External links

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