Financial Tribune - Mashhad International Airport�s annual capacity is about six million passengers whereas it had handled 10.5 million passengers in the past, says Siavash Amirmokri, the head of Iran Airports Company.

�Mashhad�s Shahid Hasheminejad Airport ranks second in terms of terminal space and number of operations (takeoffs and landings) after Tehran�s Mehrabad International Airport, from among the 53 airports affiliated to Iran Airports Company,� he said.

�Air transport accounts for 3-5% of the total passenger turnover of all modes of transport in Iran. This proportion stands at 20% for Mashhad, thanks to the appeal of air travel to the northeastern Iranian province of Khorasan Razavi, [which is home to the shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH), the eighth Shia Imam]. Thus, it is vital to work out a development plan for this airport.�

The Ministry of Roads and Urban Development and the provincial Governorate of Khorasan Razavi both maintain a long-term development perspective about Mashhad Airport and have underscored the potential for the construction of a new international airport in Mashhad with a capacity of 50 million passengers per year.