‘For about two minutes, the plane was not detected by certain equipment’: Sanosyan on the test flight from Yerevan to Kapan

The Armenian government has set a goal to ensure regular flights from Yerevan to Kapan. This was announced today by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a government meeting, discussing the test flight that took place on this route.

The start date for regular flights was not specified during the executive session, as Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan reported that certain technical issues were recorded during the test flight, which still need to be resolved.

“There was a section where for about two minutes the plane was not detected by certain equipment, which is technical. We wanted to understand this so that we could rectify our antennas and other navigation equipment regarding the flight path. Overall, we assess the flight positively. Our goal is to analyze what happened,” said the minister.

Sanosyan noted that after the analyses and equipment adjustments, a new technical test flight could be conducted. Regular flight operations will only commence once the entire flight is visible to radar systems.

In addition, the government must also resolve certain technical matters regarding the organization of flights. “Since this is a domestic flight, we need to understand how to organize everything at Zvartnots and on-site, as certain passport functionalities need to be clarified. Kapan Airport is basically ready to accept the flights. Our goal is to have regular transportation after completing all of this,” added Sanosyan.

The Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure also announced that the test flight from Yerevan to Kapan lasted 46 minutes, but the duration of regular flights will be reduced by 5-6 minutes as the test flight was conducted more slowly to identify potential technical issues. It is recalled that on April 26, at 10:58, the Czech-made passenger aircraft L-410–UVP E20, designed for 19 passengers, landed at Kapan’s Syunik Airport from Zvartnots Airport after the test flight.