Boeing 737 Aircraft Planned for Sale to Iranian Caspian Airlines Eight Months Ago, Says Navik Khachatryan

According to my sources, the Boeing 737-300 aircraft with registration EK-FAA was planned for sale to the Iranian Caspian Airlines eight months ago, with the transaction being mediated by the Iranian airline Khors Air. Aviation consultant Navik Khachatryan wrote this on his Facebook page, referring to the recent information that on February 21, the Republic of Armenia’s Civil Aviation Committee (CAC) received a telegram from the General Directorate of Civil Aviation of the United Arab Emirates regarding the hijacking of the Boeing 737 aircraft registered in Armenia and marked EK-FAA.

He specifically stated: “The owner of the EK-FAA B737-300 aircraft is the Lithuanian Magnetic Leasing, and the aircraft was leased to Fly Armenia last summer. Our CAC registered it this January. The aircraft flew empty to Tallinn for technical maintenance in mid-February, then to Varna for the same purpose, and then to Sharjah for technical maintenance as well. At the end of this last flight, the pilots requested emergency landing services from Tehran's airport services and landed in Tehran on 21/02/2021. According to my sources, the aircraft was planned for sale to the Iranian Caspian Airlines eight months ago, with Khors Air also acting as the mediator. There is information (which I have yet to verify) that another Boeing belonging to Fly Armenia with registration EK-FAB has also been in Tehran since December 2 of last year. What can I say... a miracle of control by the head of the CAC of Armenia... Although, what have I lost... what am I searching for...

It is noteworthy that on February 22, former advisor to the Prime Minister Hakob Chagharyan announced on his Facebook page that on February 21, the CAC received a telegram regarding the hijacking of the Boeing 737 aircraft registered in Armenia and marked EK-FAA from the General Directorate of Civil Aviation of the UAE. According to his information, the aircraft was supposed to land in Yerevan, but a decision was made in the air to go to the Emirates for maintenance. “And due to 'technical malfunctions,' it made an emergency landing in Tehran. Armenia, unfortunately, is ‘reserving’ its place in the 'black list' of global aviation,” he wrote.

The Civil Aviation Committee issued a statement that it has not received officially confirmed information regarding the hijacking of the Boeing 737 type aircraft, and the CAC is aware of the aircraft's whereabouts and is currently cooperating closely with the aviation authorities of related states. According to another statement from the CAC, there were no passengers on the mentioned aircraft, and the pilots were foreign citizens.