President of Public Council calls for establishing national air carrier aimed at ensuring national security

ArmInfo. Members of the Public Council of Armenia and Head of General Department of Civil Aviation Sergey Avetisyan have discussed issues related to civil aviation on July 20, the press-service of Public Council has told ArmInfo.

Vazgen Manukyan, President of the Public Council, touched upon the issues of security and affordability in aviation field and noted that the aviation market can not be considered exclusively from the business view as the field of civil aviation is of strategic importance for Armenia. In this context he mentioned the importance of establishing a national air carrier for ensuring national security. According to Manukyan it is necessary to conduct work on reforming the legislative framework of the country, provide state guarantees and ensure attractive conditions for creating beneficial business climate.

Sergey Avetisyan also stated about the necessity to create relevant conditions for operation of the national air carrier. At the same time he noted that establishment of a national air carrier and its development is a serious task for all the countries.

The sides discussed also the policy of "open sky", its achievements and consequences, as well as current situation on the aviation market of Armenia and the challenges it faces.

The issue of small aircrafts was also touched upon. The interlocutors discussed the issues of resumption of flights by small aircrafts.  To remind, on October 23, 2013 the Armenian government approved the programme implying provision of competitive and long-term air transportation services in the country. The program is based on a joint study of McKinsey & Company and National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia. The effect of the new policy appeared to be short-term. Following the liquidation of Armavia in 2013, the "open sky" policy resulted in large-scale exodus of foreign companies from the Armenian market. As a result, due to the high prices of air tickets, many Armenian passengers prefer to make use of the services of neighboring Georgia, where there are several low-cost European companies.