ArmInfo. Employees of the national air carrier of Armenia, Fly Arna, which ceased operations on March 16 of this year, are demanding payment of arrears of wages.
In a statement received by ArmInfo from airline employees, it is noted that in a short period of its activity, Fly Arna managed to win the trust of passengers, showing high performance in a number of areas. It became the only Armenian airline that successfully passed the operational safety audit of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and received the corresponding certificate. Over the entire period of operation of the aircraft fleet, the OTP (On Time Performance) indicator of the airline's scheduled flights was 95-98%.
However, for unknown reasons, a decision was made to terminate the airline's activities. On January 16, Fly Arna made its last flight, and already on March 19, airline employees received notification that the airline was suspending its operations. Guided by paragraph 1 of part 1 of Article 113 and paragraph 1 of Article 115 of the RA Labor Code, the airline informed employees that on May 19, the contracts signed between Fly Arna and employees would be terminated. At the same time, based on paragraph 1 of Article 129 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Armenia, the airline undertook to pay severance pay in the amount of the average monthly salary. However, despite the above, the airline's employees' salaries for April and May, as well as severance pay, were never paid. Employees have repeatedly contacted the Armenian State Interest Fund (ANIF) and Air Arabia OJSC as the company that manages the Fly Arna airline, which are shareholders of the airline. During May, employees visited ANIF 3 times, meeting with the temporary head of the company, Tigran Ghazaryan. During the meetings, it was promised to ensure a solution to the issue. In May, employees visited the RA Ministry of Economy, where they met with Deputy Minister Narek Teryan, who also promised to report on the development of the situation on the same day. The employees sent letters to the management of Air Arabia, the airline that operates Fly Arna. In response letters, representatives of Air Arabia suggested contacting ANIF, since they no longer have the authority to act on behalf of the airline. In another letter, a representative of Air Arabia said that ANIF has consistently failed to find a solution and has not agreed to the proposed liquidation scheme for the company.
On June 3, airline employees sent a letter to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, but the letter was forwarded to the State Property Management Committee, from which there is still no response.
"At the same time, each side invents its own reasons, noting that the solution to the issue depends on the other side. As a result, the families of more than 80 employees are currently in a situation of financial crisis, having many bank obligations. We consider it appropriate to note that the airline had a team of professionals in the field of aviation, which worked diligently to create a national air carrier. We also consider such irresponsible treatment of citizens of the Republic of Armenia by a company that has the status of a state national air carrier to be unacceptable," the airline's employees said in a statement.
Earlier the Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia Armen Simonyan stated that the Fly Arna airline had suspended its activities in the air transportation market for financial reasons. Meanwhile, as a source in Fly Arna previously reported to ArmInfo, the airline decided to leave the Armenian air transportation market due to the failure of the Armenian side to fulfill the terms of the agreement on the creation of the airline, one of which was the subsidization of passenger transportation by the RA government. Let us recall that previously the Deputy Minister of Territorial Management and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia Armen Simonyan stated that Fly Arna airline suspended its activities in the air transportation market for financial reasons. Meanwhile, as a source in Fly Arna previously reported to ArmInfo, the airline decided to leave the Armenian air transportation market due to the failure of the Armenian side to fulfill the terms of the agreement on the creation of the airline, one of which was the subsidization of passenger transportation by the Armenian government.
On December 10, 2021, Armenian National Airlines CJSC received state registration. The company operated under the Fly Arna - Armenian National Airlines brand. The project to create a new airline became known in July 2020, when the then-current executive director of the State Interests Fund of Armenia, David Papazyan, and the general executive director of the budget airline based in the Arab city of Sharjah, Ali al Ali, signed an agreement. Initially, it was known that the company would operate on a low- cost business model, in other words, it would be an Armenian low-cost airline (such airlines offer passengers low prices, but at the same time an incomplete, that is, not generally accepted, list of services).
On May 23, at a government meeting, a decision was made to dissolve the Armenian State Interest Fund (ANIF). Until the liquidation process was completed, management of the fund was transferred to the State Property Management Committee.
