ArmInfo. Fly Arna, Armenia's national airline and a joint venture company between the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) and Air Arabia Group, today announced that it has received its Air Operating Certificate (AOC) and Air Operator License (AOL), which allow it to start operating from Yerevan's Zvartnots International Airport.
As the Fly Arna official statement says, securing the AOC and AOL highlight that Fly Arna has met all the professional capabilities, adheres to all safety regulations needed for aircraft operations and has proven fit-to-fly ability following the completion of rigorous inspections by the Civil Aviation Committee of the Republic of Armenia (CAC). Fly Arna will continue to work closely with the Civil Aviation Committee to finalize the launch date.
Thanks to the cooperation of the Civil Aviation Committee of the Republic of Armenia, the Fly Arna's team successfully obtained the operating license on time after meeting all the required standards and passing all inspections. This important milestone will now allow the airline to start its operations and reflect the confidence of the Armenian aviation sector, its potential and the role that Fly Arna will play in supporting its long-term prospects.
Fly Arna has been assigned the reservation code G6 by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The carrier will use Airbus A320 aircraft and will follow the low-cost business model of Air Arabia. It should be noted that Fly Arna is the national airline of Armenia and a joint venture company between the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) and Air Arabia Group. The share of Air Arabia was 49% and, accordingly, ANIF' share is 51%. Based at Yerevan Zvartnots International Airport, (EVN/UDYZ), Armenia, FlyArna follows AirArabia's successful budget-friendly business model that prioritizes the provision of comfort, reliability and value for money travel. Earlier it was reported that Fly Arna plans to start air travel at the end of May. According to the business plan of the newly established company, the main destinations of Fly Arna will be Central Asia, the Middle East, and neighboring countries, as well as a fairly wide coverage of the Russian Federation.
It should be noted that Air Arabia is an Arab low-cost airline that was established in 2009, headquartered in the city of Sharjah, operating in the passenger transportation market from the airports of Sharjah and Alexandria, as well as from four airports in Morocco, to the countries of the Middle East, South -East Asia, Europe and the CIS. The airline is the first low-cost carrier in the Middle East, and operates flights to 89 cities around the world. The airline has its own subsidiaries - Air Arabia Egypt in Alexandria (Egypt) and Air Arabia Maroc in Casablanca.
It should be noted that in 2013, Armenia was left without a national air carrier due to the bankruptcy of Armavia, after which Air Armenia also left the country's aviation market, unable to withstand competition with Russian carriers.
