Iran Air takes delivery of its first four ATR 72-600s planes

FILE PHOTO: An IranAir logo is pictured as the company takes delivery of the first new Western jet, an Airbus A321, under an international sanctions deal in Colomiers, near Toulouse, France, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo·Reuters· (Reuters)
Reuters

PARIS (Reuters) - Iran Air has received the delivery of its first four ATR 72-600s planes, ATR said on Tuesday, in a deal which forms part of plans to rebuild the airline's fleet after nuclear-related sanctions against Iran were lifted last year. Earlier this year, ATR and Iran Air had signed a firm contract for 20 ATR 72-600s and options for a further 20 planes. Deliveries of the 20 firm aircraft be completed by the end of 2018. ATR is a joint venture between Airbus and Italian company Leonardo . "As Iran's travelling public gains access to increased supply of air transportation, it will benefit from the highest standards of comfort, efficiency and reliability with the ATR´s we are delivering today and over the coming months," ATR Chief Executive Christian Scherer said in a statement. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Andrew Callus)