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Yerevan Zvartnots International Airport has recorded accelerating passenger flow growth
By 15% over the first three months of 2016, yet the April events [military escalation in Nagorno Karabakh] resulted in drastic decline of the passenger flow, Sergey Avetisyan, Head of the General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia told a press conference on Tuesday.  

In his words, 10% decline in passenger flow was recorder from April through June with a slight improvement in July-August and 30% growth for the following months.  

“At this point we have passed the threshold of 2 million passenger flow which appears to be a high level and by the end of the yea I assure to hit a record, unseen from 1990,” Avetisyan said.

The Head of the General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia has also pointed out
slight difference in the numbers of the arrived and departed passengers.

“That is to say 1 million passengers departed and another million arrived, which means this year the growth in passenger flow is conditioned with the growth of internal flow, something very important for us,” Avetisyan recalled, pointing out number of reasons, the entrance of new carriers into the Armenian aviation market among them.

Avetisyan emphasized the reoperation of Gyumri’s Shirak airport as well as the EU –granted mandate to start negotiations on a comprehensive air transport agreement with Armenia.

“Negotiations are slated for the next year. The format enables Armenia to join a Common EU body, while the signing of the agreement would liberalize aviation with all EU member states. Apart from that, we will take number of obligations, including legislative amendments to open up a road of receiving a right to join the Common Aviation Area with the EU,” Avetisyan noted.