Global airlines devise, implement relaunch plans 29APR

Int'l carriers suspend Armenia ops as Azeri conflict flares

The escalation of a long-running conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region has seen Ukraine International Airlines (PS, Kyiv Boryspil) and various other carriers cancelling flights to Yerevan.

Both Armenia and Azerbaijan imposed martial law as the countries accused each other for the renewed clashes from September 27, 2020. Heavy artillery fire from both sides resulted in nearly 100 casualties, including civilians, reported BBC and Euronews. Armenia released a picture of an Armenian Su-25 jet it claimed was shot down by a Turkish F-16 on September 29. Turkey, which is backing Azerbaijan, denied the claim. Following calls for a ceasefire from France, Russia and the US, Armenia on October 2 said it was prepared to engage with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to re-establish a ceasefire.

The disputed region is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but ethnic Armenians have controlled the territory since a 1988-1994 war between the two former Soviet republics. The latest fighting was the heaviest seen in the long-running conflict since 2016, reports...

Armenian gov't considering new nat'l carrier - minister

The Government of Armenia is planning to launch a new state-owned airline to decrease the country's dependency on foreign-flagged airlines, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Suren Papikyan said during a parliamentary hearing.

"We have a task to create a local carrier in the near future. In the near future, I will do everything possible for us to have our own airline," Panorama.am quoted Papikyan as saying.

He said that while the current government has embarked upon a plan to reform and modernise the Armenian airline market, it had to take responsibility for the "mistakes of its predecessors". The European Commission has blacklisted all Armenian-flagged airlines for the country's non-compliance with international safety standards and a lack of adequate oversight capabilities.

"The problems we're facing today have not emerged overnight and are not the result of the 2019 activity at all. However, it would be desirable to have avoided these problems," Papikyan said.

Armenia has not had a state-owned flag carrier since the collapse of Armenian Airlines (R3, Yerevan) in 2003. Its role was...

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