Government Aircraft Departed to Prague Again

On May 10, the government aircraft of the Republic of Armenia departed from Yerevan's Zvartnots Airport to Václav Havel Airport in Prague for technical maintenance, reported Hetq. According to the website flightaware.com, the technical flight is designated as FIE4041. FIE is the code of the Armenian airline FlyOne Armenia, which has been servicing the government aircraft since September 2023, while 4041 refers to the specific flight number. Traditionally, flights transporting the Prime Minister of Armenia are designated as FIE4001, those for the President as FIE4002, and other high-ranking officials as FIE4003.

This is not the first time the Armenian government aircraft (Airbus A319 ACJ, registration number 'Republic of Armenia 701') has traveled to Prague for technical maintenance. In May 2020, the state aircraft was also in Prague for this purpose. In August of the same year, the aircraft went to Ostrava, Czech Republic, where it was repainted in new colors. This cost the state several tens of thousands of euros. The aircraft also flew to Prague for technical maintenance on April 14, 2022, and returned to Yerevan on May 20 of the same year.

In the absence of the government aircraft, the Prime Minister traveled abroad on a private airline, Aviakompaniya Armenia. Currently, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is heading to Albania today to attend the 6th summit of the European Political Community; however, he is utilizing the services of a private airline.

It remains unclear when the Armenian government aircraft will return from maintenance, and until then, especially the Prime Minister and the President will need to travel abroad using private transporters' aircraft.