Iran Air

Is Iran Air safe?

Iran Air scores 44, above Pakistan International Airlines (39) and below Mahan Air (49). That rests on dated facts: a fatal Boeing 727 crash in 2011, four Fokker 100s written offHull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary since 1998, an ageing fleet, and 15 years of sanctions that have made parts and new aircraft hard to buy. Add 2026, when US and Israeli strikes hit Iranian airports and grounded the country's airlines for weeks. None of this predicts what will happen on any particular flight.

Crashes and hull losses

IR277, 9 January 2011. A Boeing 727 built in 1974 was approaching Urmia in heavy snow when the crew abandoned the approach. During the go-around the aircraft stalled, probably because ice had formed on the unprotected tail. Two engines then failed in the disturbed airflow, and the aircraft hit the ground about 30 km from the airport. 78 of the 105 on board died. Iran's investigators named the aircraft's outdated systems, the lack of a simulator for adverse weather and poor crew coordination as contributing factors.

Fokker 100 write-offsHull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary. Iran Air has lost four Fokker 100s without deaths: on approach to Isfahan in 1998, on take-off at Tehran Mehrabad in 2008, on landing at Mehrabad in 2009 (an aircraft leased from Chabahar Airlines), and in a gear-up landing at Mehrabad on 19 March 2019. In the last case a hydraulic failure stopped the main gear from extending, and investigators found the aircraft had had hydraulic problems on earlier flights.

IR655, 3 July 1988. An Iran Air A300 was shot down over the Strait of Hormuz by a US Navy cruiser, killing all 290 on board. That was an attack, not an accident, and we do not count it.

On 3 March 2026 an Iran Air A319 parked at Bushehr was destroyed in US and Israeli airstrikes. Iran's airline association said in April that about 60 Iranian aircraft had been destroyed or taken out of service by the strikes.

What the EU and US rules say

The EU Air Safety ListEU Air Safety ListThe European Commission's list of airlines banned or restricted from flying in EU airspace because they do not meet international safety standards.More in the glossary restricts Iran Air under Annex B: its Fokker 100s and Boeing 747s may not fly to the EU. Another Iranian airline, Iran Aseman, is banned outright. These are safety decisions.

The sanctions are separate. The US Treasury's OFAC added Iran Air to its sanctions list on 23 June 2011 under its non-proliferation programme. After the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran Air ordered about 200 aircraft from Airbus, Boeing and ATR, but only 13 ATR 72-600s and three Airbus jets were delivered before the US left the deal in 2018. On 14 October 2024 the EU froze Iran Air's assets over alleged transfers of missiles and drones to Russia, which Iran denies. That ended its flights to Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Paris, Milan, Rome and Vienna. The UK followed in November 2024, and the last Heathrow flight left on 17 November.

How sanctions affect maintenance

An Airbus A300 or a Fokker 100 needs the manufacturer's parts, engine overhauls and service bulletins throughout its life. Because Airbus and ATR aircraft contain US parts, US sanctions block most of that support. Airlines under sanctions keep older aircraft flying with parts from retired airframes, local repairs and indirect supply, but with fewer options when something wears out. The 2019 gear-up landing, after repeated hydraulic faults, is the kind of event this makes more likely. That is why we score the fleet 30: the A300s, A310s and Fokker 100s were built between 1979 and the early 1990s, and only the ATR 72-600s and three Airbus jets were delivered new in the last decade.

Flying in and out of Iran in 2026

EASA's conflict-zone bulletin for the Tehran FIR, revised on 30 September 2026, describes the ceasefire agreed on 8 April and extended on 17 June as fragile, and warns that Iranian airspace would face imminent threats if it broke down. In January 2020 Iran's own air defences shot down Ukraine International flight PS752 after take-off from Tehran, killing 176. Check your government's advisory and the airline's schedule close to departure, and book a flexible fare: Iranian airports closed for about seven weeks in 2026, and a renewed conflict could close them again with no warning.

How we scored it

The accident record (65) reflects the 2011 crash and the run of Fokker 100 losses. The sister airline Iran Air Tours (Iran Airtour) is not counted here: its Tu-154M crashed at Mashhad on 1 September 2006, killing 28 of 148 (ASN 322109), and another Tu-154M was written offHull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary near Mashhad on 8 May 2009 without deaths (ASN 321513). The fleet (30) and environment (25) are the weakest factors: old aircraft with limited support, and airspace that was attacked in 2026. Oversight (30) reflects the partial EU restriction and limited outside auditing. The other large Iranian airline, Mahan Air, scores higher on accidents but has similar fleet problems.