Tasnim � A passenger aircraft that Iran Air has leased from a Nigerian airline landed in Tehran to operate flights carrying Iranian nationals returning from Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, an informed source said.





The Boeing 747-400 airliner landed at Tehran�s Mehrabad Airport on Saturday, the source told the Tasnim News Agency.

Iran Air has hired the plane under a wet lease agreement, the source noted.

A wet lease is a leasing arrangement whereby one airline (the lessor) provides an aircraft, complete crew, maintenance, and insurance (ACMI) to another airline or other type of business acting as a broker of air travel (the lessee), which pays by hours operated.

The representative of Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Hajj and pilgrimage affairs recently announced that Iran Air will operate three fourth of this year�s Hajj flights from different cities in Iran to Saudi Arabia.

Seyed Ali Qazi-Askar said according to an agreement between Tehran and Riyadh, it had been planned that Iranian airlines would operate half of the Hajj flights from Iran and Saudi airlines would carry out the rest of the flights.

However, Saudi Arabia announced that it is not able to operate all of the Hajj flights it had undertaken, he said.

The official added that following coordination with Iran Air, it will operate about three fourth of the flights.