Iran's parliament has banned on airplanes from flying in the country during the Azan call to prayer, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
"According to the new directive, airplanes are banned from flying during Azan, especially during the call to morning prayers," Mehr quoted the spokesman for parliament's cultural committee Ali Taheri as saying.
The head of the Aviation Organisation, Hamid Reza Pahlevani, said aircraft will be allowed to take off 30 minutes after the call to the morning prayer so that passengers have the time "to carry out their religious duties", the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported.
Iran has practiced Sharia law since its 1979 Islamic revolution.
