A New Airport to Be Built in Jermuk

Starting from October this year, Vayots Dzor Governor Vahagn Arsenyan, who was previously the mayor of Jermuk from 2021 to 2025, discussed the development prospects of the community in an interview with Forbes, emphasizing the importance of the airport factor. According to Hraparak, he stated, “The upcoming airport will create new opportunities in logistics and agriculture… We are preparing to build a small airport that will initially serve domestic flights and later expand towards international destinations.” He added, “In ten years, I envision Jermuk as a world-class resort capital with an international airport, more than ten modern resort spa centers, and a developed eco-tourism sector.”

The topic of a new airport in Jermuk has been under discussion for nearly 20 years but has not progressed beyond the documentation stage.

Jermuk has had an airport since the second half of the 1950s. It is located near the Yerevan-Jermuk highway, on the left bank of the Arpa River. During the Soviet era, various types of aircraft and helicopters operated flights to this resort town. Moreover, it is the highest airport in Armenia, situated at an altitude of 2070 meters above sea level.

Since the 1990s, flights have not been conducted at the Jermuk airport. Following independence, the airport was under the balance of the state-owned “Erebuni Territorial Airports” company, but in 1999, the government of Vazgen Sargsyan decided to separate the airport's property from the company and transfer it without compensation to the Jermuk community. In turn, the community sold the airport buildings in 2002 to Melik Argelyan, the former head of the airport.

The two-story building of the airport, which includes the former waiting room, control point, ticket office, and employee rooms, is now considered a private house and belongs to M. Argelyan. He has also acquired a 1.5-hectare plot of land adjacent to the building. The remaining land of the airport (according to a government decision, 51.6 hectares) is considered state property.

New Airport Project and Area Search

In September 2008, the government of Tigran Sargsyan declared Jermuk a tourist center. The executive decision stated that by 2012, Jermuk was to become a year-round tourist center, developing as a center for health and winter tourism, as well as for organizing international chess tournaments, all-Armenian, and international youth camps, and cultural tourism.

The government projected that Jermuk would attract 100,000 tourists annually, generating $100 million in revenue from tourism and creating 4,000 additional jobs. In order to make the ambitious development plans for Jermuk a reality, several measures were outlined, one of which was to have an airport for helicopters and light aircraft and organize the corresponding routes.

Before this decision, in July 2008, the government defined the priorities list for that year, which also included adopting a concept for the development of small aviation. Based on this, the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA, now the Civil Aviation Committee) developed an appropriate concept. It was noted that the possibilities for the recommissioning of several airports in the country, including the Jermuk airport, were examined. The CAA viewed the development of small aviation in Jermuk from a tourism perspective, which was logical and stemmed from the aforementioned government decision.

“Given the Armenian government’s program aimed at the development of the city of Jermuk, it is evident that a modern resort and health center must be equipped with the corresponding infrastructure. Considering the region's topographical conditions and the previous operational experience of the old Jermuk airport (which had been considered a challenging airport for carrying out flights), it is advisable to construct both a new airport and a new helipad in designated areas for the development of air communications in Jermuk city,” the document stated.

Thus, in 2008, the question of having a new airport in Jermuk was under discussion at the government level.