ArmInfo.Armenian National Airlines CJSC, better known as Fly Arna, has not been operating flights since January 10, an informed source told ArmInfo.
According to the source, all airline employees received a 50% pay cut due to downtime. This week a meeting of the Board of Directors of the company is scheduled to take place, at which the airline's fate will be decided.
Fly Arna was founded in December 2021. However, a year and a half later, it encountered problems caused, according to available data, by the Armenian side's failure to comply with the terms of the agreement when creating the airline. 49% of the company's shares belong to the Armenian State Interest Fund (ANIF), and the same amount belongs to the Arab International Business Company, affiliated with Air Arabia. The remaining 2% of the shares are the property of Lebanese businessman of Armenian origin Varuzhan Nergizyan.
Earlier, ArmInfo reported about problems that had arisen with the air carrier. The agency, citing sources close to the airline, noted that the Armenian side did not fulfill a number of previously agreed conditions when creating the joint venture. The talk, among other things, was about subsidizing passenger transportation by the RA government. As a result, the Arab air carrier recalled one of its two aircraft, threatening to stop flying by the end of 2023. However, in response to a request from ArmInfo, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of the Republic of Armenia reported that the Civil Aviation Committee of the Republic of Armenia does not have such information. "The airline operates as normal," the department's response said.
On December 1 last year, RA Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan reported that the Fly Arna air carrier needed additional funding. "I know that the company needs additional financing, and this issue is now being discussed. I think appropriate solutions will be found. We are working with the company," the minister noted, without specifying what solutions are being discussed.
