By Alexander Pracht
Armenia’s aviation sector continues to face serious challenges, having been on the European Union’s air safety blacklist for almost five years, barring all Armenian airlines from entering EU airspace. Efforts to establish a national flag carrier have repeatedly failed, while attempts to develop a domestic passenger flight network have also yielded little success. As a result, the country remains heavily reliant on foreign airlines, limiting connectivity and raising questions about the industry’s future.
Domestic flights
During the Soviet era, Armenia had a well-developed domestic aviation network, with regular flights connecting Yerevan to cities such as Stepanakert, Jermuk, Goris, Berd, and Sisian. Some destinations, like Kapan, saw as many as 12 to 16 flights per day, while others had up to six to eight daily flights. In addition to domestic routes, Armenian airports maintained air links with other Soviet republics.
However, after Armenia gained independence, local air travel rapidly declined, and within a few years, domestic flights ceased entirely. Today, most of these airports remain abandoned or are repurposed for air sports. This decline in domestic aviation was seen, to varying extents, across all post-Soviet countries, as economic hardships and changing transportation priorities led to the closure of many regional routes.
Despite numerous proposals to revive domestic flights, only one project has materialized. In August 2023, Syunik Airport near Kapan, in Armenia’s south, reopened after decades of abandonment and now operates three weekly flights to and from Yerevan. However, ticket sales remain inaccessible online, raising concerns about transparency and public availability. Adding to this, 50% of the airport’s shares are owned by the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine, the country’s largest mining operation, suggesting that the service may primarily cater to corporate needs rather than function as a fully developed regional transport link.
The flights are operated by Novair, an airline that has not updated its website since 2020 and, based on flight records at Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport, appears to serve no purpose other than operating the Kapan route.
Another concern is the airport’s location – its tarmac sits immediately next to the Azerbaijani border, raising serious safety risks. During the airport’s reconstruction, the terminal and personnel came under gunfire several times. While the airport is now operational, its proximity to a tense border zone raises questions about the long-term viability and safety of its flights.
Safety concerns
Since 2020, all Armenian airlines have been banned from entering the European Union’s airspace after failing to meet regulatory oversight standards outlined in the EU Air Safety List. This places Armenia alongside countries like Russia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Sudan, among other underdeveloped nations. Although Armenia’s Civil Aviation Committee has repeatedly claimed it is working to have the country removed from the blacklist, with the latest promises aiming to resolve the issue by the end of 2024, the situation remains unchanged.
As a result, Armenian airlines now primarily operate flights to Asian destinations, while routes to Europe are covered by foreign low-cost carriers. However, these budget airlines are often criticized for cost-cutting practices that lead to frequent delays, flight cancellations, and overbooking. This has made flying to Europe from Armenia increasingly inconvenient, leaving many passengers dissatisfied. The situation is particularly concerning given Armenia’s political aspirations to align more closely with Europe rather than Asia. Strengthening ties with Europe naturally entails increased travel, yet the current state of aviation has left Armenia’s connectivity with Europe somewhat crippled.
Armenia’s most recent major incident occurred on December 14, when a Shirak Avia passenger flight from Saratov, Russia, mistakenly landed at Erebuni Airfield, a military base not equipped for commercial flights, instead of its intended destination, Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan.
The situation became more troubling when, rather than transferring passengers by ground transportation, the aircraft took off again from Erebuni to land at Zvartnots, unnecessarily exposing passengers to additional flight risks. While local media sources attributed the error to pilot mistake, the Civil Aviation Committee remained silent on the cause. Nearly two months after the incident, in response to an inquiry from CivilNet, the Committee would only say that their investigation was still in progress.
Poor management
While most countries maintain a government-owned airline or flag carrier, Armenia has made multiple attempts to establish one, none of which have succeeded. The most recent effort was spearheaded by the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF), which partnered with the Emirati low-cost carrier Air Arabia to launch Fly Arna. However, ANIF was eventually dissolved last May due to major financial mismanagement, leading to the collapse of Fly Arna as well. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan later referred to ANIF as a “failure and disgrace,” underscoring the government’s disappointment with the project.
Fly Arna now joins the long list of defunct Armenian airlines established and folded since 1991. The average lifespan of an airline in Armenia has been just over five years, with many companies operating for even shorter periods, essentially functioning as short-lived ventures with little long-term planning. The oldest active airline in the country, Armenia Airways, was founded in 2013.
Given such instability and short-term business planning, aviation safety in Armenia remains a major concern. The most recent airline closure happened literally this week, when Air Dilijans lost its air operator certificate after selling its only aircraft to Georgian Airways. This pattern of fleeting, unstable operations highlights the lack of long-term vision necessary to build sustainable and secure aviation infrastructure.
As a country blockaded by Turkey and Azerbaijan, Armenia relies heavily on air travel as its lifeline to the outside world. Therefore, the state of its aviation sector extends beyond economic concerns, being a critical matter of national security.
