ArmInfo.Other airlines, which will serve new destinations, can also get a discount on the air duty provided by the Armenian government to the Ryanair low-cost airline. Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan stated this in an interview with reporters on October 21.
Commenting on the reports that the state allegedly cancels the charges for airlines at the airport, which amount to about $ 80 per passenger, Avinyan assured that not a penny will be paid at the expense of taxpayers, in particular, the same Ryanair, which in three months will start operating flights from Yerevan to large European cities at an average ticket price of 35 euros.
, no other privileges are granted to companies. The privilege has been established not only for Ryanair, but also for other airlines that intend to enter the Armenian aviation market and serve new destinations in the next 12 months, "Avinyan explained.
When asked by journalists what profit Ryanair expects in this case, Avinyan replied: "I am not familiar with the details of the business program, but the whole logic of the work of low-cost airlines is that they focus on efficiency." According to Avinyan, this contributes to the improvement of competitiveness and the entry of new players into the market.
Avinyan also emphasized that such a country as Armenia faces the task of strengthening its international relations through airspace and increasing the number of direct flights. "And the second direction that we should develop is the stimulation of programs for domestic air carriers, which we can talk about in 1-2 years," the Deputy Prime Minister summed up. As ArmInfo previously reported, Europe's largest low-cost "Ryanai"r airline announced the launch of flights from Yerevan and Gyumri. According to David O'Brien, Commercial Director of Ryanair, Armenia is becoming the 43rd country in the list of flight destinations.
He stated that the company is starting its activities in Armenia in three new directions. In particular, direct flights to Rome and Milan will start from Yerevan on January 14, and to Berlin from the end of March.
The first European destination from Gyumri Shirak Airport will be Memmingen (Germany), which will be available from the end of March 2020. It is planned that initially Ryanair flights in Armenia will be operated twice a week.
On average per year, the company plans to serve about 130 thousand passengers in Armenia, who, choosing Ryanair, will save a total of about 20 million euros. In addition, according to him, the start of the company's activities in Armenia will provide an opportunity to create new jobs.
We also emphasize that it is possible that the government's efforts to invite a well-known European low- cost airline to the market were connected with the need to introduce tougher competition into the country's aviation environment in order to reduce the general price level in the aviation market, the high prices of which reduce the tourist and investment attractiveness of Armenia.