On 16 December, the head of the Armenian Civil Aviation Committee Tatevik Revazyan explained the main problems in the Armenian aviation field after her committee was put under heightened scrutiny of the EU, reported arka.am.
She said that the problems were related to the organization of air transportation and coordination of the activities of Armenian airlines, as well as to some legislative gaps. Revazyan added that the problems in the air transportation area have existed for more than a decade. “We are doing everything possible to solve them and we managed to thwart the inclusion of Armenia in the EU's "black list", but only until May, when a decision will be made, based on the success of the ongoing aviation reforms in our country,” she said.
Speaking further on the topic, Revazyan emphasized that the bulk of these problems emerged after the airlines operating in Armenia applied for permissions to launch regular flights to European destinations. “In fact, for a long time these problems were frozen and were “reanimated” these days because of the growing interest in Armenia. The European Commission noticed these problems having tightened control," she said.
Revazyan highlighted the need to increase the oversight functions of the Civil Aviation Committee, saying it may form its own budget by offering a number of paid services, following the example of several European countries. “We provide licenses for free, but we can set a certain price. In this way, we can create our own budget, which will allow us to offer higher salaries and attract skilled professionals. After all, many problems stem from low salaries,” she said.
She also explained that the EU prioritizes cooperation with Armenia. ″The cooperation with the EU is really very positive as they have helped us a lot, offering their recommendations. The comments in the press had slightly the wrong direction. What the international media said was 115 companies were on the blacklist, with Armenia facing an increased oversight. They put the emphasis on Armenia instead of those 115 airlines, ″ she noted. She said that the interest in Armenia gained actuality after a recent presentation event in the EU. ″So, they are now coming to see whether what we said was really true. We have raised all the problems while [also] presenting the proposed solutions and the timeframes. We need to fit into those time frames now to demonstrate progress,″ she added.
On 9 December, the EU Commission updated their Air Safety List, the list of airlines that do not meet international safety standards, and are therefore subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the EU. The Armenian Civil Aviation Committee has been put under heightened scrutiny because of signs of a decrease in safety oversight. A total of 115 air companies were banned for operating within the EU. At present, only two airlines are registered in Armenia: Aircompany Armenia, and 2019 start-up Armenia Airways. Taron-Avia, a third airline, recently suspended operations due to financial insolvency; national carrier Air Armenia went in the same direction after Yerevan declared an open skies country.
The shortfalls were discovered during a visit to carriers Taron Avia and Atlantis European Airways in July this year, as part of a third-country authorisation process. It stated that the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) concluded, after its visit, that the committee had “not systematically followed the established certification process” when updating specifications for Taron Avia and Atlantis European.
Armenian authorities concluded a common aviation area agreement with the European Union in 2017 and the committee pointed out that it plans convergence with the EU’s regulatory framework.
