Having local airlines in Armenia is an issue of strategic importance, but the government isn’t planning to create an airline and give it a national carrier status, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a meeting with students and academic staff of the Yerevan State University’s Faculty of Economics and Management.
Having local airlines is of strategic significance, says Pashinyan
STEPANAKERT, APRIL 22, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: “We are carrying out active work, but our viewpoint is not that the government must create an air company and give it a status of national carrier. We are in discussions with the company that is operating the Zvartnots and Shirak airports, we are trying to jointly understand what kind of problems we have and where. We are also closely studying the decision of the government whereby the Open Sky policy was declared. And we are trying to understand to what extent it corresponds to our current requirements and needs of the future,” he said.
He said the government is also trying to analyze to what extent the relations with other partners are in line with ICAO standards. He said there are opinions that Armenian national interests aren’t sufficiently taken into consideration in three points.
“We must move forward with balanced steps in order not to create shocks. However, on the other hand I agree that having local air carriers is an issue of strategic significance. But our policy is not to give a monopoly position to a given company. If we are creating conditions for a local carrier, we must create it for all local carriers in order for new companies to emerge in the arena,” Pashinyan said.
