Aviation Consultant on Ticket Price Increases and New Opportunities for Aviation Development

The aviation sector has been one of the most affected industries by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Russia and Western countries have imposed mutual sanctions, including flight bans and the closing of airspace.

Aviation consultant Navik Khachatryan has expressed confidence that the preservation of our sovereignty and the protection of airspace under current conditions will help Armenia achieve significant progress. “Russian airlines are now at a standstill; they are searching for new destinations to send their planes. One of those new destinations could be Armenia. This will become evident soon. There are many tourists from Russia in Armenia. They are somehow reaching here,” Khachatryan said in an interview with NEWS.am.

He deemed it unlikely that Armenia would fall under aviation sanctions. “A crucial component is that we are an independent country. Iran has been under sanctions for 30 years, yet two European companies are operating flights to that country. Therefore, I don’t see risks. If the authorities strictly adhere to international requirements, there should be no issues,” Khachatryan added.

The consultant also referenced the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) “blacklist,” which includes Armenia’s Civil Aviation Committee. There is time to prepare for a new audit, and successfully passing it will allow for calm flights to EU countries.

At the same time, Khachatryan regretted that Armenia’s aviation sector is significantly lagging behind global main trends. “We clearly have a shortage of resources to become a transit country between the West and EAEU countries amidst a sanctions war. We only have three operating airlines, each of which operates two aircraft. But the current situation offers an opportunity to start everything from scratch. If proper attention is paid to the issue, serious prospects for occupying a certain niche will open up,” he stated.