TEHERAN - Iran insisted on Sunday its new main international airport was safe despite warnings to travellers by Britain, Canada and Australia that the runway may be unsound.
Britain and Canada angered Iran by issuing a travel warning against using the Imam Khomeini International Airport on April 29, the day before the airport began operating. Australia last week echoed the advice, warning that, "Reports indicate that the runway at the new Imam Khomeni International Airport in Teheran may not yet be suitable for use".
Iran has rejected the advisories, which were based on information that the airport's runway may be built on top of some ancient underground irrigation channels. "There is no doubt that this airport is safe. Planes are landing and taking off at this airport," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told a weekly news conference.
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The airport, located 30 miles (48 km) south of Teheran, is currently only handling flights to and from the United Arab Emirates. Other Gulf destinations are due to be added in coming days and all international flights to Teheran should be switched there by next March.
Iranian anger about the travel warnings has focused on Britain with one parliamentarian accusing London of having demanded the airport's name be changed. Britain has denied that accusation and says its travel warning is based solely on its duty to inform British citizens of any information that could jeopardise their safety. "We don't see this as a technical issue. We see it mainly as a work of propaganda," Asefi said. "As officials from different organisations including the Roads and Transport Ministry have said, this airport is fully secure and we have not received any report regarding a lack of safety at this airport," he added.
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