{"id":336437,"date":"2025-09-04T21:54:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T20:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=336437"},"modified":"2025-09-04T22:08:50","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T21:08:50","slug":"irans-ghost-airlines-how-regime-insiders-plunder-billions-while-the-nations-economy-craters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/economy\/irans-ghost-airlines-how-regime-insiders-plunder-billions-while-the-nations-economy-craters\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran’s ‘Ghost Airlines’: How Regime Insiders Plunder Billions While the Nation’s Economy Craters"},"content":{"rendered":"
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People in Iran are grappling with economic hardships, and officials of the regime have no solutions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On August 31, 2025, a member of the Iranian regime’s parliament, Ali Khezrian, exposed a scheme that perfectly encapsulates the nation’s economic decay. He revealed<\/a> that one Iranian airline with only a single active airplane has 2,500 people on its payroll. In one provincial capital, he noted, 500 of these employees do nothing more than clock in and out each day. This is not an isolated case of mismanagement; it is a microcosm of the systemic kleptocracy that has hollowed out Iran’s economy and put its citizens at risk.<\/p>\n

The Absurd Reality of Iran\u2019s Skies<\/h2>\n

The state of Iran\u2019s aviation industry is a study in dysfunction. Despite having a population just one-fifteenth the size of China’s, Iran has nearly five times as many registered airline companies. While India, with a population of 1.5 billion, operates with just four airlines, Iran\u2019s much smaller market is saturated with dozens of largely non-functional carriers.<\/p>\n

This proliferation of “airlines” has not translated into service or safety. The average age of an aircraft in Iran’s fleet is a staggering 28 years, nearly double the global average of 15 years, with some planes still in service after 30 or 40 years. While a world-class carrier like Qatar Airways operates 201 aircraft with an average age of just five years, the typical Iranian airline has only two to five aging planes. The contrast reveals a sector defined not by service, but by systemic decay.<\/p>\n

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#Iran<\/a>\u2019s Regime Fears Impending Social Explosion Amid Worsening #Economic<\/a> and Social Criseshttps:\/\/t.co\/h9e5afgF4l<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) March 4, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n