Transportation Minister Appoints IRGC Commander As Iran Air CEO
A general of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) has been appointed the new CEO of the country’s flag carrier Iran Air.
A general of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) has been appointed the new CEO of the country’s flag carrier Iran Air.
Second Brigadier General Shamseddin Farzadipour was assigned to the job on Monday upon a decree by Transportation Minister Rostam Ghasemi (Qasemi), himself a brigadier general who served as a commander in the overseas branch of the of the IRGC, the Qods (Quds) Force.
Farzadipour was serviong a commander of aviation operations at the IRGC’s Air and Space Force.
Since President Ebrahim Raisi (Raeesi) took office, more and more Revolutionary Guard commanders have been appointed to civilian positions, such as governors, ministers and top managers and advisors.
Iran Air -- locally known as Homa -- has been struggling with a series of financial crisesin recent years as the company has been unable to implement fleet modernization plans due to US sanctions.
The company had ordered 200 passenger aircraft -- 100 from Airbus, 80 from Boeing and 20 from Franco-Italian turboprop maker ATR – following the nuclear agreement in 2015 that were supposed to ease restrictions but when former president Donald Trump left the deal, Washington revoked licenses for Boeing Co and France’s Airbus to sell Homa commercial planes.
In March, a group of retirees and employees of Homa held a protest rally over their living conditions as the company faces huge amounts of unpaid pensions as well as several debts to the government and private companies.
