In recent days, a joint flight with four Airbus A340-300 previously operated by Turkish Airlines and which had been stocked in Johannesburg since 2019 drew attention.
The unusual action was reported on December 23 by the Twitter profile @Gerjon_, as the aircraft were retired by Turkish Airlines at the end of 2018 and recently gained new registrations from the African country Burkina Faso XT-AKK, XT-AKB, XT-ALM, without information of the fourth aircraft's new registration.
With that, it is suspected that the flight between Johannesburg and Tehran-Mehrabad was a clandestine transfer for Mahan Air, an operator in Iran that is prevented from receiving new aircraft due to the sanctions imposed by the USA, that is: the mysterious flight could have been a ploy to circumvent possible Western sanctions.
Another strange one out of #SouthAfrica. First it was the strange sanctioned Russian ship anchoring at Naval Base Simon's Town, now these flights. #aviation https://t.co/jU33G4KjoM
— ✈ ❤ ✈ (@26DegreesSouth) December 24, 2022
Visual confirmation for the new registrations of three out of four Airbus A340s in 🇿🇦 Johannesburg taken yesterday, prior to their flights to 🇮🇷 Tehran last night: 🇧🇫XT-AKK, 🇧🇫XT-AKB, 🇧🇫XT-ALM.
Picture credit: ORTIAspotter (reposted with permission) pic.twitter.com/JqJ3HYmQGu
—Gerjon | חריון | غريون | ኼርዮን (Deactivated) (@Gerjon_) December 24, 2022
The four aircraft involved are:
- msn 115, 2-AVRA, ex TC-JDM
- msn 180, 2-AVRB, ex TC-JDN
- msn 270, 2-AVRC, ex TC-JIH
- msn 331, 2-AVRD, ex TC-JII
It is still not known who ordered it and which company lease was involved, raising suspicions that Turkey may have assisted with the transfer flight, as noted by the sramble portal.
Finally, Iran in recent years has been facing difficulties in obtaining new aircraft and parts, mainly due to sanctions against the United States, causing the country to operate outdated aircraft.
With information: Scramble
