Azman Air has dismissed claims that it sold aircraft to Iran, saying it will take legal action on the allegations.

The airline’s Accountable Manager, Muhammad AbdulManaf, claimed that their aircraft only went to Iran on a routine C-Check as mandated by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA.

AbdulManaf also said they were not aware of any sanction between Nigeria and Iran.

Speaking to a Kano-based news medium, he said: “Our Aircraft went on a routine maintenance C-Checks which is due after every 18 months. I’m really shocked to hear that we smuggled our aircraft to Iran. Is it a cow that can be smuggled? The story is fake and lacks any facts.

“There is a clear guideline from the NCAA on selling and deregistering aircraft from our AOC. Unless that is done, the aircraft is still under our control. The NCAA has not received any document or correspondence from Azman in that regard.

“But of particular interest is the issue of the turning off of the transponder. We have already written the Iranian CAA for clarification on that.

“If a transponder was turned off outside our jurisdiction, then the CAA or Air Traffic Control of that country would have complained to us.

“We have received no such complaint. So there is no way we would have known. So we are seeking clarification on that. How were these aircraft deregistered before they were sold? We need to investigate. These investigations are ongoing.

“One key issue under scrutiny is the alleged deactivation of transponders on some aircraft. The NCAA has reached out to the Civil Aviation Authority of Iran for clarification, as the incident reportedly occurred outside Nigerian jurisdiction. The transponder developed a fault en route to destination Airport which was logged and filed in the tech log and submitted to NCAA.

“We are not aware of any sanction between Nigeria and Iran. As a matter of fact, there are economic treaty documents signed between D8 countries (Nigeria, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Bangladesh), for the economic benefits of the eight countries, which allow free trade on aviation services and products between the D8 countries.”

Last week, a news medium in the Middle East reported that Azman Air helped the Iranian Aviation Industries to avoid sanctions imposed on it by the United States government.

Middle East Forum also stated that Iran’s largest airline, Mahan Air, used Azman Air to deliver an Airbus A340-642 widebody passenger aircraft to Mahan Air on November 15, 2024.

The news medium said while the aircraft was flying from Kano to Kabul, its crew turned off the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) transponder at an altitude of’39,000 feet after entering Iranian airspace, though it eventually landed at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport. (Vanguard)