TEHRAN - The number of international passengers flying to Mashhad in Farvardin (March 21-April 20) soared 310 percent year on year to over 41,000, a local aviation official said on Saturday.

“The number of foreign passengers flying to Mashhad in Farvardin jumped some 310 percent compared to the same month last year,” Hassan Jafari was quoted by ISNA as saying.  

“More than 41,000 foreign passengers arrived in Mashhad by air during Farvardin, while the number reached 10,350 in the same month last year.” 

Overall, the number of air passengers (domestic and international travelers) to Mashhad rose 18 percent during the first month of the Iranian calendar year, the official noted.

The surge is mainly due to the easing of coronavirus restrictions, the official noted.

Before Farvardin, local authorities estimated up to ten million travelers and pilgrims would be arriving in Mashhad during the two-week Noruz holidays.

Mashhad, the capital of Khorasan Razavi province, is Iran’s holiest and second-largest city which embraces the shrine complex of the eighth Shia Imam.

Before the coronavirus puts almost everything on lockdown, Mashhad, played host to thousands of travelers and pilgrims who come from various Iranian cities, neighboring countries, and even across the globe to visit the holy shrine.

According to an available official statistic, some 37 million Iranian pilgrims and travelers visited the shrine city of Mashhad during the first ten months of the past Iranian calendar year 1398 (March 21, 2019- March 10, 2020). Of whom some eight million came by road, six million by rail, 3.8 million by air, and 18 million by private cars.

AFM