Mahan Air

Is Mahan Air safe?

Mahan Air's accident record is better than you might expect: no fatal crash in the records we use, and one accident write-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, a BAe 146 that overran a short island runway in 2016. Everything else counts against it. US export controls have barred it from Western parts since 2008, its aircraft include 30-year-old Airbus jets and Boeing 777s that US officials say were smuggled in, no outside body audits its operations, and Iran's airspace was attacked in 2026. We score it 49, ahead of Iran Air on accidents but with a weaker fleet.

The record so far

Mahan's most serious accident was on 19 June 2016, when a BAe 146-300 from Ahvaz overran the runwayRunway excursionWhen an aircraft leaves the runway surface during take-off or landing, either off the end (an overrun) or off the side (a veer-off).More in the glossary at Khark Island; all 89 on board survived and the aircraft 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. Other events show the strain on old engines and crews:

• Uncontained engine failures on Boeing 747s at Jeddah in June 2012 and on climb-out from Tehran in October 2015.
• Yerevan, May 2019. An A310 overran the displaced end of the runway.
• Kerman, July 2024. An Avro RJ100 made a hard landing with a tail strikeTail strikeWhen the tail of an aircraft touches the runway during take-off or landing, usually because the nose was raised too far or too early.More in the glossary.
• Grozny, 14 October 2024. An RJ100 from Tehran lined up on a parallel runway still under construction and landed on it. No injuries were reported; the new runway was not on current charts or NOTAMs.

On 23 July 2020 an A310 climbed sharply over Syria to avoid US F-15s that had flown close to inspect it, and several passengers were hurt. That was not a failure by the crew.

Eighteen years of US export controls

Mahan has been under a US denial order since 2008, 14 years before the Russian airlines we score, such as Aeroflot, were added in 2022. On 17 March 2008 the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a temporary denial order after Mahan acquired US-origin Boeing 747s through a British intermediary. BIS has renewed it ever since, most recently on 30 October 2025, citing flights to Moscow, Lahore and Shanghai. On 12 October 2011 the Treasury designated Mahan under its counter-terrorism programme for supporting the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. In May 2018 Treasury also designated a Turkish network it said had helped Mahan "sustain its fleet of Western-manufactured aircraft".

In Europe, Germany withdrew Mahan's landing rights in January 2019, citing security concerns and military flights to Syria. France and Italy followed in 2019, and the EU froze Mahan's assets in October 2024. Mahan is not on 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, so these are security and sanctions measures, not safety findings.

What sanctions mean for the fleet

An airliner needs a steady supply of approved parts, engine overhauls and the manufacturer's service bulletins. US rules cover any aircraft with significant US content, so Mahan cannot buy that support for its Airbus jets either. BIS orders describe how Mahan has sourced aircraft and parts through third countries: an Airbus A340 navigation unit seized in the US in 2014, and five ex-US Boeing 777-200ERs that were stored in China until 2025, re-registered in Madagascar and flown to Iran around 15 July 2025 with their transponders off.

Aircraft maintained this way have no manufacturer oversight of their condition, and their maintenance records cannot be checked from outside. Its A310s were built in 1990 and 1991, and the one 777 in our accident data, EP-MTC, in 2001. That is why the fleet scores 25.

Flying Mahan Air in 2026

• Airspace risk is the main variable. EASA's bulletin for the Tehran FIR, revised on 30 September 2026, calls the ceasefire fragile. In January 2020 Iran's air defences shot down a Ukraine International Boeing 737 leaving Tehran.
• Routes change at short notice. Mahan stopped flying to Istanbul and Ankara on 21 September 2026 after a decision by Turkish authorities. Check your route the week you fly and buy a flexible ticket.
• Some destinations carry their own risk. Mahan has flown to Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, all covered by EASA conflict-zone bulletins in recent years.

How we scored it

The accident record (80) is the strongest factor: no fatal accident and one write-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. The fleet (25) and environment (25) are the weakest, and oversight (25) reflects the lack of any external audit. Serious incidents (40) cover the engine failures, overruns and the Grozny wrong-runway landing.