The UK has expressed interest in helping develop Iran’s aviation industry, particularly through knowledge transfer and training.

This development emerged out of a recent visit to the Islamic Republic by a delegation led by British Minister of State at the Transport Department Robert Goodwill, according to Irani state news agency Irna.

Goodwill indicated that the UK is ready to transfer airport and aviation expertise to Iran and help Tehran to develop its passenger terminals. ”UK companies are ready for scientific and industrial cooperation with their Iranian counterparts,” Goodwill said.

Some of the key airports that could benefit from such cooperation, cited Gholam-Hossein Baqerian, deputy head of Iranian Airports Companies for Planning and Control, are Isfahan, Mashhad, Tabriz, Bushehr and Ahwaz, where plans for both brownfield and greenfield airport developments have been previously announced.

British Airways announced resuming direct flights to Iran this summer with six flights a week from Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5.

Iran’s aviation sector is one of the worst hit by years of sanctions, with the average age of its aircraft fleet estimated upwards of 20 years. The government has said it requires up to 90 new aircraft per year over the next four to five years to overhaul its aviation sector.