Free Food Was Not Provided, It Was Sold. Airline Changes Name and Flight Number: 'Hraparak'

Karen Gasparyan flew to Dubai on May 7 at 10:21 AM on a flight from FLYONE ARMENIA. The plane was scheduled to land at 1:10 PM, but it arrived in Dubai at 7:46 PM. This was reported by 'Hraparak'.

Karen's wife, Shushan Sayadyan, was unable to contact her husband until the evening. Around 2:30 PM, she received several calls from his phone but could not communicate with him, which heightened her anxiety. Meanwhile, she attempted to reach the airline, but it was futile.

After 8:00 PM, when Karen reached his hotel, he told his wife that the plane had turned back and landed in Iran at Shiraz Airport before reaching Dubai's airspace. 'They waited six hours on the plane because they were not allowed to enter Dubai. Later, I checked online and saw that the plane that left under the name of FLYONE ARMENIA changed its name and flight number and took off as Mongolian Airways, which allowed them to enter Dubai,' Shushan recounted.

Karen informed his wife that no free food had been provided on the plane; instead, the onboard food was sold to passengers despite the diversion to Iran being the airline's fault, and they were not allowed to exit the aircraft. Furthermore, he was unable to speak with his wife, whereas the airline's announcement stated that during the stop, the flight crew had supplied passengers with food and did everything possible to facilitate their contact with relatives.

According to Karen, they waited three hours for money to be transferred from Armenia so they could refuel the plane. Before a flight, the airline (in this case, FLYONE ARMENIA) requests permission from its country's aviation authority, then from the countries through which the plane will fly. This means that the airline must have prior approval from the countries whose airspace it will enter.

The media contacted Aram Ananyan, the chairman of the board of directors of FLYONE ARMENIA, who responded in writing. After receiving the letter, the same response was distributed to the press as a comment regarding the actions of the airline.

The airline's comment is below.

On social media, there was a certain reaction to the information that on May 7, the FLYONE ARMENIA flight from Yerevan to Dubai had landed in Shiraz. The FLYONE ARMENIA aircraft carried out the Yerevan-Dubai-Yerevan flight on the same date. Due to a rationale that still requires additional clarification, Dubai air traffic controllers did not allow the airline's aircraft to enter Dubai airspace. The commander of the aircraft decided to land at Shiraz Airport until the issue was clarified.

During the stop, the flight crew provided passengers with food and did everything possible to maintain communication with their families. We thank our passengers for their patience and positive cooperation with the crew. Since FLYONE ARMENIA currently does not operate flights to the Islamic Republic of Iran and due to a non-working day, the documentation required for the continuation of the flight took a bit longer. Once all permits were updated and received, the aircraft continued its flight and landed at Dubai Airport.