Nigerian airlines don’t exactly have the best reputation, both when it comes to safety and ethical business practices. I mean, the CEO of Air Peace, Nigeria’s largest airline, has been indicted in the US for bank fraud, money laundering, and obstruction. But that’s not the only Nigerian carrier facing some scrutiny right now.
Grounded Nigerian airline Azman Air recently flew a couple of planes to Iran, but insists it’s not for the reasons that we think, and is even threatening legal action against anyone who suggests otherwise, as flagged by aeroTELEGRAPH. Let’s unpack this…
Azman Air has suspiciously flown two planes to Iran
In August 2024, Azman Air, a domestic Nigerian airline, suspended operations. The decision was made due to general macroeconomic conditions in the country, plus aircraft maintenance issues. This wasn’t even the first time that the airline had suspended operations.
A few months later, in November 2024, Azman Air sent two of its jets to Iran. This included an 18-year-old Airbus A340-600 with the registration code 5N-AAM, plus a 28-year-old Boeing 737-300 with the registration code 5N-YSM.
The circumstances surrounding this were unusual. For example, on the evening of November 15, 2024, the A340-600 took off from Kano, Nigeria (KAN). As soon as the plane entered Iranian airspace, its transponder was turned off, so it disappeared from flight tracking.
Many people suggested that Azman Air had sold these jets to Iranian airlines. Due to sanctions in place, Iranian airlines can’t purchase Airbus and Boeing jets in the typical way. So we’ve largely seen Iran Air and Mahan Air pick up secondhand jets.
That’s usually not even a straightforward process, since most leasing companies aren’t allowed to do business with Iranian companies. So we’ve often seen shady companies without much history pick up some aircraft, and then send them to Iran in exactly this way, flying them in a convoy, turning off the transponders, and then having them land in Iran. Then after several weeks, the planes emerge in new paint schemes, and with new registration codes.
Unrelated to this story, but that former Virgin Atlantic A340-600 that Azman Air operated might just be the quirkiest plane in the world. It had 413 seats, including two business class seats and 411 economy seats. Yes, that’s right, the plane had two(!!!) business class seats.
Azman Air’s hilarious denial of selling planes to Iran
Azman Air executives are absolutely shocked that anyone would suggest the airline may have sold aircraft to Iran. How could anyone think that a grounded Nigerian airline that’s flying planes to Iran in the middle of the night and turning off the transponder is illegally selling those planes? The airline would never do that!
Azman Air has called these claims baseless and defamatory, and has vowed to take legal action against anyone propagating those claims.
There’s actually a very innocent explanation for this, according to Azman Air’s Director of Finance, Muhammad Hadi Abdulmanaf. Azman Air isn’t selling planes to Iran — instead, the airline has sent the planes to Iran so they can undergo a C-check, which is a mandatory maintenance procedure required by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). It’s always reassuring to send a plane abroad for maintenance, to a country that can’t even source real parts, and isn’t certified by any international organization to perform such maintenance. As it’s explained:
“Our aircraft went for routine C-Checks, which are mandatory every 18 months. I am shocked to hear claims that we smuggled our aircraft to Iran. An aircraft is not a cow that can be smuggled. This story is entirely fake and lacks any factual basis.”
“There are clear NCAA guidelines on selling and deregistering aircraft from our Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC). Unless that process is completed, the aircraft remains under our control. The NCAA has not received any documents or correspondence from Azman Air regarding this matter.”
I mean, he has a great point! If you’re going to illegally smuggle planes, you need to make sure you complete all the legally required paperwork.
Now, you’re probably wondering why the Azman Air A340 would turn off its transponder as soon as it entered Iranian airspace. Azman Air has clarified that this resulted from a technical glitch, and that’s the only explanation for this.
I don’t know about you guys, but Azman Air has 100% addressed any skepticism that I had about this situation. I can’t even wrap my head around how anyone would think anything unusual was going on here.
Bottom line
Grounded Nigerian airline Azman Air recently sent its planes to Iran, and the transponder of one of the jets was even turned off as the plane entered Iranian airspace. Many believed that these planes were being smuggled to Iran, since this is how airlines in the country acquire many of their planes.
However, Azman Air vehemently denies these claims, and is even threatening legal action against anyone who suggests this is the case. Instead, the airline claims to be sending its planes to Iran for maintenance, and the transponder being turned off is just a glitch. Well, if that’s the case, I look forward to flying Azman Air’s A340-600, once is surely returns to the skies in the near future!
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