TEHRAN – On Saturday, Imam Khomeini Intl. Airport (IKIA) officially concluded Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) in its newly-constructed Salam Terminal ahead of its inauguration in the near future.

Transport Minister Mohammad Eslami and several local aviation authorities attended by the trial process of the terminal, which is aimed to offer entirely electronic smart services, according to IKAC’s public relations office.

Salam Terminal, with an annual capacity of five million passengers, has been mostly designed and constructed by Iranian engineers.

“Employing local workforce, technology and material helped us save at least $3 million in the construction process,” says Ali Rostami, the CEO of IKAC, financialtribune.com reported.

Currently, IKIA only carries out international flights. But plans are underway to transfer a portion of domestic flights to Imam Khomeini International Airport after the inauguration of Salam Terminal.

Transport Minister Mohammad Eslami (C) attends Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) test for the newly-constructed Salam Terminal at Imam Khomeini International Airport, June 8, 2019.

The measure is aimed at attracting more foreign tourists to Iranian cities. “Shiraz, Isfahan and Tabriz airports officials are keen to operate direct flights to IKIA,” Siavash Amirmokri, the head of Iran Airport Company told IRNA.

However, “the final decision should be made by airline companies after studying the profitability of operating the flights.”

Imam Khomeini International Airport is expected to handle domestic flights between 12 am and 5 am, when Mehrabad Airport is barred from operating flights.

Pointing to IKAC’s 30-km distance from Tehran, Amirmokri said, “We first need to make sure that transferring domestic flights to IKAC will not have a negative impact on the demand for domestic flights.”

Back in May, Kjell Kloosterziel, the head of steering committee at the Netherlands Airport Consultants (NACO), paid a visit to the passenger terminal, saying that he felt it has been a success.

The Salaam International Terminal is a successful project for the country’s airport industry and “I think you can be only proud of your country,” Kloosterziel said.

Imam Khomeini International Airport registered 47,446 takeoffs and landings in the last Iranian fiscal year that ended March 20, 2019 to register a 19% decline. Over 7.27 million passengers and around 141,704 tons of cargos were transported from the airport during the period to be ranked third on the list of Iran’s busiest airports. The figures show a 19% and 14% decline year on year.

AFM/MG