ArmInfo. One of the main tasks of the Armenian government in the field of civil aviation is to remove it from the "black list" of the European Union. The Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Gnel Sanosyan stated on October 31 at the RA NA Committees hearings on the draft state budget of Armenia for 2024.
He noted that work in this direction is proceeding at an active pace. Of the 41 requirements, 30 have already been met, and there is hope for the early removal of civil aviation from this list. The Minister noted that negotiations are ongoing to launch direct flights with China and India. In the latter case, the issue is moving forward very successfully. Both Armenian and Indian air carriers are showing interest in operating flights in the Yerevan-New Delhi direction.
Since June 2020, all airlines registered in the Republic of Armenia have been included in the EU flight safety blacklist, which means they do not have the right to enter the EU airspace for commercial purposes. This was due to the discovery of deficiencies related to flight safety as a result of European inspections carried out by the Civil Aviation Committee and a number of Armenian airlines. This means that the presence of weak air safety mechanisms in airlines registered in Armenia and the Civil Aviation Committee that controls them has forced the EU to impose a temporary ban on flights of Armenian air carriers, since the EU considers them not to meet European flight safety standards. The air safety blacklist, officially called the EU Air Safety List, consists of two annexes. Appendix "A" includes those airlines activities of which in the skies of the EU are completely prohibited, and Appendix "B" includes airlines for which the ban applies only to specific aircraft. Armenia is included in Appendix A. This means that all Armenian air carriers are prohibited from entering EU airspace. The European Commission, based on the opinion of specialists from the EU Air Safety Committee (ASC), periodically updates the blacklist. The committee is headed by the European Commission itself, and is assisted by EASA - the European Aviation Safety Agency. The list was last updated on November 23 last year. It included all eight airlines registered in Armenia.
