October 10-14
The world’s largest passenger jet, the Airbus A380, flew into Imam Khomeini Airport last week on its maiden flight to Iran. The plane is owned by Fly Emirates, the airline whose chartered flight carrying Americans out of Afghanistan was forced to land at Bandar Abbas a few weeks ago by Iranian authorities. Iranian news coverage suggested the plane was used on the Dubai-Tehran route because Imam Khomeini Airport is so well-equipped to handle the aircraft. But airlines make such decisions based on the size of the business they anticipate, and a great many Iranians fly to Dubai for vacations without official inhibitions and to conduct business outside the veil of sanctions. However, news reports said the first flight carried only 250 passengers, leaving the 525-seat plane more than half empty. So it remains to be seen if Fly Emirates will continue to use the A380 on this route.