A Look At The Operators Still Flying The Airbus A310 In 2022

The Airbus A310 first took to the skies on April 3rd, 1982, marking this year as its 40th in active service. Despite the introduction of many new replacements, the A310 lives on today as a passenger, freighter, and military aircraft globally. Here’s a look at the current operators of the jet.

Few passenger airlines

The A310 was replaced by the A330 in the late 1990s, offering similar passenger capacity with a longer range and better efficiency. However, a handful of airlines have held onto their fleet of A310s, and not always out of choice.

The four current operators are Iran Air, Mahan Air, Iran Airtour Airlines, and Ariana Afghan Airlines. The first three Iranian carriers have faced decades-long sanctions from the West, making purchasing new aircraft impossible. Ariana has been in the same situation, holding onto older planes as the country struggled through crises.

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Mahan Air leads the pack, with 10 A310-300s in the fleet, seven of which are marked active. Iran Air and sister carrier Airtour Airlines both fly two planes each, followed by Ariana with just the sole A310. With only 15 passenger planes left in service, opportunities to fly the A310 remain extremely limited.

Freighter and private

As is common, the aging A310 continues to find a market in cargo operators and private operations. Royal Jordanian uses one A310-300F, while ULS Airlines in Turkey flies three A310Fs, including on behalf of major carriers like Turkish and Qatar Airways. One private A310 remains in the skies today too, flown by Al-Atheer Aviation, a Saudi VIP aircraft provider. This wraps up the list of commercial A310s in service today, with 20 in total.

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However, the A310 doesn’t only find use among civilian operations. Since the early 2000s, Airbus has offered the A310MRT and MRTT (multi-role tanker/transport) to governments. The MRT is a standard transport aircraft for cargo, passengers, or medical missions, while the MRTT offers some unique features.

Military usage

The first A310MRTT remains with Airbus as a demonstration aircraft for customers. The Royal Canadian Air Force operates three of these specialized aircraft as well as two A310 MRTs. The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) uses four MRTTs as well as three MRTs for their missions.

What makes the MRTT unique is its ability to offer air-to-air refueling for other jets. The system allows for up to 40 tonnes of fuel to be moved to a receiving plane while managing the center of gravity through the process. Given this strategic importance, Airbus offers conversions to the MRTT from standard A310s and MRT variants.