TEHRAN – Iran’s Mahan Air has launched direct flights connecting Tehran to Rome and Shenzhen, a major city in Guangdong province of China.

On June 2, Mahan Air, which is the first and largest private airline of the country, started operating a weekly direct flight to the Italian capital, IRIB reported.

The flight was scheduled to take off from Imam Khomeini International Airport at 7:15 a.m. and land at Rome–Fiumicino International Airport "Leonardo da Vinci" at 9:49 a.m., Tehran time.

The services to Shenzhen was launched last week, adding the number of the airline’s flights to Chinese cities including Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, to 17 per week.

Iran’s tourism organization has set sights on attracting two million Chinese nationals per annum after the country approved to waive the visa requirement for Chinese travelers earlier this month.

A total of 7.8 million foreign nationals visited Iran during the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20) that shows a 52.5 percent increase year on year.

AFM/MG