Air Armenia (Yerevan) is planning to venture into the passenger-flights sector using two A320-200s to help fill the void left by the demise of Armavia (Yerevan) earlier this year. The former freight-outfit is planning an August 18 operational launch from Yerevan to Moscow with St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Rostov Platov, Samara Kurumoch and Sochi due after September. Since the collapse of Armavia, the government has sought to redistribute the airline's traffic rights with Air Armenia having been awarded rights to six markets out of its Yerevan hub. According to RoutesOnline, these have been allocated on a temporary basis and are subject to certain performance criteria which, if satisfied, could see Air Armenia eventually being designated the country's national carrier providing it with further traffic rights.