Baku-Nakhichevan Flight Not Profitable Even from a Business Perspective, According to Chagharyan

The former advisor to the Prime Minister on aviation, Hakob Chagharyan, wrote on his Facebook page:

“Regarding the Baku-Nakhichevan flight (summary). My entry will be long. Therefore, those who do not enjoy reading for long should not feel offended.

1. The "International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) - has NO FIRST ARTICLE (according to Shahen Petrosyan or a journalist commenting on his commentary). IT ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT EXIST. This expression is a sign of absolute ignorance of the sector and extreme unprofessionalism. There is an ICAO founding document - the Chicago Convention (CC). And that document has a first article called SOVEREIGNTY. It states diametrically the opposite regarding the right of the country to its own airspace. In that article, it is unequivocally stated that every country is the sole and unquestionable SOVEREIGN of its airspace.

2. CC Articles 5, 6, and 11 clarify the rights to use another country's airspace. According to those articles, Azerbaijan or any other country could not use the sovereign airspace of the Republic of Armenia without the permission of the RA authorities. Therefore, the flight was either conducted with the knowledge of the RA government or disregarded by Azerbaijan.

3. The ICAO doc. 252 outlines the regulations for the use of other countries' airspace. Where it is clearly stated that permission should not be granted, but, in cases of doubt, the right of landing and inspection of the aircraft in your own country is to be guaranteed.

4. According to the RA Government's 2003 document, "On the Approval of the Procedure for Organizing the RA Airspace," and considering the above documents, the permission for this flight should have been granted by the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense, and only with the agreement of both.

What can be said about the appointment of a 'specialist' from the Institute of Mathematical Machines, who has no connection to reality, to the position of head of the Strategic Department of Civil Aviation? This flight was not even profitable from a business perspective for AZAL - the Baku-Nakhichevan route is shorter via Baku-Tabriz-Nakhichevan than via Baku-Jambarak-Garni-Nakhichevan (you can calculate on the map with a ruler). This flight was yet another blow to our country, represented by the 'Velvet' stepbeater of the RA and the biomasses that voted for them knowingly or unknowingly. Enough of that.”