Where is Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport?

Tehran, Iran’s capital and largest city, is set at the foot of the Alborz mountain range, and is a bustling metropolis. A cosmopolitan city with warm, friendly people, Tehran is home to some great museums, restaurants and parks.

IKIA, Imam Khomeini International Airport Tehran

Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport (IATA: IKA, ICAO: OIIE), also known as Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport, Imam Khomeini Airport or Khomeini Airport, is one of two major airports serving Tehran, Iran. It may also be referred to as Tehran Khomeini Airport, Tehran International Airport or Tehran Airport and, as it is actually located in Ahmadabad, outside of Tehran’s city limits, locals may refer to it as Ahmadabad Airport.To add one more name into the mix, the airport refers to itself as IKIA, short for Imam Khomeini International Airport.

Imam Khomeini Airport is Tehran’s primary international airport, and served 7,243,120 passengers in 2015.

IKA is located south of Tehran, outside of Tehran’s district and is 50KM away of city center. In low traffic hours it takes 45 to 60 minutes to get to the airport but in rush hours for instant between 7am to 10am or 4pm to 8pm it may take up to 2 hours to reach the airport.

The other major airport serving Tehran, the much busier Mehrabad International Airport (THR), primarily handles domestic traffic, with the exception of flights to Saudi Arabia for Hajj and Umrah.

Airlines serving Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport include Aeroflot, Air Arabia, Alitalia, Armavia, Ata Airlines, Atlasjet, Austrian Airlines, Azerbaijan Airlines, Belavia, Bulgarian Air Charter, Caspian Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Corendon Airlines, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Fly Georgia, Georgian Airways, Iran Air, Iran Aseman Airlines, Iraqi Airways, Kam Air, Kish Air, KLM, Kuwait Airways, Lufthansa, Mahan Air, Oman Air, Pegasus Airlines, Qatar Airways, Sky Airlines, Syrian Air, Taban Air, Turkish Airlines, Ukraine International Airlines and UM Airlines.

Flights from Tehran depart IKA to destinations including Abu Dhabi, Aleppo, Almaty, Amsterdam, Ankara, Antalya, Baghdad, Bahrain, Baku, Bangkok, Beijing, Beirut, Birmingham, Cologne, Copenhagen, Damascus, Delhi, Doha, Dubai, Dushanbe, Düsseldorf, Ercan, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Istanbul, Izmir, Kabul, Kandahar, Karachi, Kiev, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Larnaca, London, Milan, Minsk, Moscow, Mumbai, Muscat, Najaf, Paris, Phuket, Rome, Shanghai, Sharjah, Stockholm, Tbilisi, Urumqi, Varna, Vienna and Yerevan. Other destinations are also available through connection flights.

Please note that Mehrabad (THR) airport is now used primarily for domestic flights, only while the IKIA Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport is for international flights.

You will not be able to enter Iran if there is an Israeli stamp on your passport or evidence of visiting Israel (stamp on Israeli border side of Jordan or Egypt for example).

Airport tax is collected from Iranian citizens for the amount of 750,000 IRR upon each departure, although Iranian expatriates (whose passport does not indicate Iran as the domicile), and students studying abroad, are exempted.

Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport services include:

• Duty free (cigarettes, toys)
• 5 star hotels
• Airport shops (Caspian Caviar, Iranian Saffron)
• Persian food brands (Sohan Mohammad, Sohan Arefi, Gaz Seke, Golestan, saharkhiz, Keila, Honey, Chika, eLIT, Hajkhalife, Tavazoe, Farmand) — airside and landside
• Cafes

IKA

Tehran IKA also has a CIP terminal which can be booked before the flight and serves VIP premium class services to the arriving/departing CIP passengers.

CIP Terminal of Tehran IKA International Airport

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