Older aircraft almost always end up with niche airlines or otherwise smaller operators, or with those from less talked about countries. The A310 is no exception. With ten active passenger aircraft, all are used by operators from Iran and Afghanistan.

Only ten active passenger A310s left

Just ten active passenger A310s remain, ch-aviation.com indicates. All but one is with an Iranian operator, resulting from severe sanctions that impede any meaningful development for airlines in the country. It's the same with the A300, with four Iranian airlines using the type to Istanbul.

  • Ariana Afghan: has one active A310-300
  • Iran Air: one A310-300
  • Iran Airtour: one A310-300
  • Mahan Air: seven A310-300s

One active example is EP-MMN. The aircraft is 32.2 years old and was delivered to Lufthansa in 1989. After time with Hapag-Lloyd, it entered the employ of charter carrier Kyrgyz Trans Avia in 2006 and then by Mahan Air in 2013. It was last used on November 28th from Tehran to Baghdad, Flightradar24 indicates.

A310_Mahan_Air_EX-301_THR_January_2011

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Three A310s in the air when writing

When writing, three passenger A310s are in the air. Highlighted is Iran Airtour's sole A310, EP-MDL, making its way from Tehran to Istanbul. The small widebody is occasionally used to Europe's busiest airport, although the higher-capacity A300-600 is commonly deployed instead.

Flying south of Ankara, Turkey's capital, is Mahan Air's EP-MNX operating as W5117, Meanwhile, EP-MNF, operating W55059, was about to land at Tehran Imam Khomeini, the country's main international airport, from Erbil, Iraq.

At 31.04 years, EP-MNX was delivered to CSA Czech Airlines in 1991 and served for 18 years. It entered Mahan's fleet in 2009. Radarbox.com indicates that it has mainly been deployed between Baghdad and Istanbul, Baghdad, Kabul, Damascus, Ankara, and Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, in the past few days.

A310s in the air
When writing, three A310s were in the air, two between Tehran and Istanbul and one from Erbil to Tehran. Image: Radarbox.com.

Ariana Afghan's sole example is back

Not long after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan and reshaped the government and much of society, the country's aviation industry has returned to life, primarily domestically and to core international markets.

The nation's flag carrier, Ariana Afghan, plays an important role, including with B737-400s and its sole active A310. Registered TA-CAV, the aircraft was delivered to Turkish Airlines in 1989 and used by Ariana from 2009 onwards.

It has primarily operated between Kabul and Riyadh and Jeddah, and also to Ankara and Istanbul, in the past week or so. On the day of writing, it returned from Riyadh to Kabul as "Ariana 1416". It left Saudi Arabia at 05:20 and arrived home at 10:06.

The author only flew the A310 once: a Kenya Airways machine from Amsterdam to Heathrow on its final leg from Nairobi. Have you flown the type? If so, let us know in the comments.