A parked Iran Air Airbus A319 is gone after U.S. and Israeli forces bombed Bushehr Airport—a dual civil-military facility on Iran’s southwest coast. A second airport near Tehran has also been hit.
A U.S.-Israeli air strike on Bushehr Airport destroyed a parked Iran Air Airbus A319-100 on Iran’s southwest coast, leaving the aircraft — registration EP-IEP — damaged beyond repair, according to reports from aviation outlets View From The Wing and Aero Flap. The attack is part of a broader, ongoing campaign of U.S. and Israeli air strikes against targets across Iran.
Bushehr Airport (BUZ) handles both commercial passenger flights and military operations, making it a strategic target amid the current hostilities. The city of Bushehr also houses a nuclear power plant, though that facility was not reported to have been targeted in the strikes.
Aero Flap reported that Bushehr Airport had been under fire “since the beginning of the current phase of hostilities.” Simple Flying, which first reported on the aircraft’s destruction, said it reached out to Iran Air for comment and would update its coverage upon receiving a response.
A Jet With Five Owners, Two Decades in the Sky
EP-IEP had logged more than two decades of commercial service before its destruction. According to ch-aviation fleet data, the aircraft was one of only three Airbus A319-100s registered to the Iranian flag carrier at the time.
The jet first flew on Jan. 8, 2002, and was delivered 15 days later to Zhejiang Airlines of China, where it carried the registration B-2225. In September 2003, it transferred to Air China, retaining its Chinese registration, and remained in that carrier’s fleet until April 2012. It then flew successively for Rossiya (April 2012 to April 2016), Hyperion Aviation (September 2016 to February 2018), and Asia Sky Lines (February 2018 to January 2019), before joining Iran Air in December 2019 as EP-IEP. Iran Air configured the narrow-body jet with 124 economy-class and 12 business-class seats.
Flightradar24 tracking data showed the aircraft had remained active in the weeks before its destruction, operating domestic routes within Iran and international services to neighboring countries, including flights to Dubai International Airport (DXB) in the United Arab Emirates. Flightradar24 data shows the aircraft operated flight IR407 from Tehran to Bushehr on Feb. 28; it did not depart again.
Second Airport Targeted, This Time in Tehran
Bushehr is not the only Iranian airport to have been struck. NDTV reported that Mehrabad International Airport (THR) in Tehran has also come under attack, with local Iranian media sharing photographs showing smoke rising behind the runway.
Mehrabad served as the primary international gateway to the Iranian capital for many years, handling both domestic and international traffic. After Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA) opened in 2004 and completed its transition to handling all international flights by 2007, Mehrabad was reduced to domestic operations.
Key Takeaways
- A U.S.-Israeli air strike on Bushehr Airport (BUZ) — a dual civil-military facility on Iran’s southwest coast — destroyed a parked Iran Air Airbus A319-100, registration EP-IEP, leaving it damaged beyond repair.
- EP-IEP was 24 years old at the time of its destruction, having previously served Zhejiang Airlines, Air China, Rossiya, Hyoerion Aviation, and Asia Sky Lines before joining Iran Air in December 2019. It was one of only three A319-100s in Iran Air’s fleet.
- Flightradar24 data shows EP-IEP operated flight IR407 from Tehran to Bushehr on Feb. 28 and never departed again.
- Mehrabad International Airport (THR) near Tehran — also a joint civil-military facility — was separately reported to have sustained damage, with local media showing smoke behind the runway.
- Iran Air had not responded to a request for comment at the time of initial reporting.
