Imam Khomeini International Airport (
IATA: IKA,
ICAO: OIIE) (
Persian: فرودگاه بینالمللی امام خمینی) is the
international airport of
Tehran, the capital of Iran. It is located 35 kilometres (22 mi) southwest of the city and is named for
Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran's first supreme leader. The airport is operated by Imam Khomeini Airport City Company. It covers 13,400 hectares (33,000 acres) and has two terminals and two runways. All international flights into Tehran are served by the airport, and all domestic flights land at
Mehrabad Airport. Imam Khomeini Airport is a hub for four airlines. As of the fiscal year ending on 20 March 2019, it ranks third in terms of passenger traffic in Iran.
The airport was conceived before the
1979 revolution, as Mehrabad Airport was becoming congested. It was scheduled to open in May 2004 under the management of
Tepe-Akfen-Vie (TAV), a Turkish-led consortium. However, the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shut it down soon after the first plane landed, saying that TAV did business with Iran's enemy Israel. The company stated it had no relationship with Israel. The airport reopened in April 2005 with four Iranian carriers in charge of operations. In 2019, a second terminal was completed.
History
Construction and initial opening
The Iranian government decided prior to the
1979 revolution to build a new airport for
Tehran. The city was then the centre of the Middle East, and air traffic was increasing quickly at the existing
Mehrabad Airport.[1] The new airport was initially called Tehran or
Aryamehr International Airport, and the original designers were the American company Tippetts-Abbett-McCarthy-Stratton and the Iranian firm Farman-Farmayan.[1][2][3] In 1977, construction began 35 kilometres (22 mi) southwest of Tehran. The revolution and
war with Iraq caused delays, and work on the runway recommenced in 1989. Due to the economic impact of the war and Iran's isolation in the international community, President
Akbar Rafsanjani focused on other endeavours in the early 1990s.[1] In 1995, the French firm
Aéroports de Paris was selected as the primary consultant, and construction of the terminal, which
Paul Andreu had redesigned, started.[1][2] By 2000, the airport had been renamed after
Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran.[1]
The reformist administration of
Mohammad Khatami signed a
memorandum of understanding with
Tepe-Akfen-Vie (TAV), a Turkish-led consortium, to operate the terminal and construct a second one.[4][5] The agreement symbolised a shift away from the viewpoint that foreign investment was a form of
imperialism.[6] President Khatami inaugurated the airport on 1 February 2004 during celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the revolution.[7] The plan was for Imam Khomeini Airport to handle all international flights to Tehran.[8] The government hoped that Imam Khomeini Airport would become the largest in the Middle East, and the The Washington Post wrote that it was meant to represent Iran's "opening to the world".[1][6] The
Economist Intelligence Unit commented that the
Dubai airport already served as a
hub in the region and that the new airport was unlikely to overcome existing barriers to tourism such as the government's rigid social rules.[8]
On 8 May 2004, an
Emirates flight from Dubai became the first to land. Hours later, however, the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) closed the airport by driving tanks onto the runway.[6][9] It threatened to use
anti-aircraft fire against the second incoming flight, which fighter jets escorted to Isfahan.[4][9] The rest of the flights were diverted to Mehrabad. In addition, TAV's staff were forced to leave the premises with their equipment, and management of the facility was granted to
Iran Air.[4] The IRGC and conservatives in parliament said the consortium had done business with Israel, putting Iran's security at risk; the two nations had a
hostile relationship.[10][11] TAV responded that it had not done any business with Israel.[11] According to The Washington Post, the IRGC also opposed TAV's involvement for financial reasons.[6] The debacle soured relations between Iran and Turkey.[12] After the company left, the IRGC said the airport could reopen, but the government decided not to do so until it finished investigating the closure.[4]
Second opening
On 30 April 2005, the $350 million Imam Khomeini Airport reopened under the management of a consortium of four Iranian airlines—
Caspian Airlines,
Iran Aseman Airlines,
Kish Air and
Mahan Air.[5][11] No ceremony was held to mark the occasion due to persistent tensions. The first arrival was an Iran Air flight from Dubai.[5] In the beginning, the airport only had flights to a few Middle Eastern countries.[11] By March 2008, all international flights excluding those for the
Hajj and
Umrah had relocated from Mehrabad to Imam Khomeini Airport.[13]
Air France,
British Airways and
KLM resumed service to Tehran in 2016 following the
Iran nuclear deal.[14] All three carriers suspended their flights two years later, stating that they were not financially viable.[15][16] Analysts said the main reason for the airlines' decisions was that the United States
had exited the nuclear agreement and decided to reinstate sanctions on Iran.[15] In June 2019, President
Hassan Rouhani inaugurated the Salaam International Terminal.[17]
Infrastructure
The airport occupies 13,400 hectares (33,000 acres) and is operated by Imam Khomeini Airport City Company, which is part of the
Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.[5][18] It has two terminals: Terminal 1 and the Salaam International Terminal.[17] Terminal 1 is shaped like an arc whose ends merge into the desert horizon.[1] A third terminal called Iranshahr is in the planning phase.[19] There are two runways:[20]
11L/29R: 4,198 by 45 metres (13,773 ft × 148 ft)
11R/29L: 4,092 by 45 metres (13,425 ft × 148 ft)
The first 450 metres (1,480 ft) of 11L/29R are made of concrete, the rest of asphalt. 11R/29L is entirely made of asphalt.[20] An
instrument landing system was installed in August 2009. Imam Khomeini Airport was the first in Iran to have one.[21]
In 2015, French corporation
AccorHotels opened a
Novotel and an
Ibis hotel on the airport premises, marking the entry of the first international hotel chain into the Iranian market since the 1979 revolution. The company was motivated by the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.[22][23] Rexan International Airport Hotels has since taken over management of the hotels and renamed them Rexan and Remis, respectively.[24]
Airlines and destinations
Most of the airlines that fly into Imam Khomeini Airport are based in Turkey and the Middle East. The airport is served by two Western airlines,
Lufthansa and
Austrian Airlines.[25] It is a hub for
Iran Air,
Iran Aseman Airlines,
Mahan Air and
Meraj Airlines.[26] Imam Khomeini Airport receives all international flights to Tehran, while
Mehrabad Airport caters to domestic traffic.[27] There are flights to several cities in the Middle East and the rest of Asia such as Damascus, Guangzhou and Mumbai. Tehran is also linked to destinations in Europe like London and Moscow.[28] In the fiscal year ending on 20 March 2019, the airport handled 7.27 million passengers, making it the third busiest in Iran. It received 142,000 tonnes of cargo, and the number of aircraft movements was 47,000.[29]
Imam Khomeini International Airport is accessible from Tehran via the
Tehran–Qom and
Tehran–Saveh freeways.[55] It is also served by a
station on Line 1 of the
Tehran Metro, which opened in August 2017.[56]