Iran nullifies operation licenses of 8 domestic travel agencies

TEHRAN,July 4(MNA) - The Civil Aviation Organization of Iran has nullified the operation licenses of eight domestic travel agencies as they have been inactive for several months. Operation licenses of Aram Air, Atlas air, Ilam Air, Tehran Air, Pasargad, Safiran, Soha, and Safat travel agencies have been nullified, Fars quoted Civil Aviation Organization director Hamidreza Pahlavani as saying. In addition, some other travel agencies have been warned to resume operation, otherwise their license will be invalidated, he noted. In May, ISNA quoted the head of the association of Iranian airlines, Abdolreza Mousavi, as saying that he Iranian civil aviation industry and the affiliated airlines are totally in the red, and if the current trend continues it may face bankruptcy. Last year, the domestic airlines increased ticket prices by maximum 75 percent in order to resolve their financial problems, but they faced a significant fall in the number of passengers, he noted. In February, the Fars News agency quoted Mousavi, as saying that Iranian airlines are unable to pay off their fuel debts to the Oil Ministry due to their bad financial situation.