Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Civil Aviation Committee to participate in the discussion of the activity report 2023 of the Committee.

The Chairman of the Committee, Mihran Khachatryan, and his deputy reported to the prime minister about the works carried out in the field, structural and systemic problems and challenges, as well as the prospects for the development of the field. The works carried out in the direction of the main functions of the Civil Aviation Committee, which are regulation, certification and supervision, were presented.

During the reporting period, 8 new airlines entered the Armenian market, expanding the geography of air transportation. In 2023, regular flights were made from Armenia to 49 cities of 23 states, and 12 airlines made flights to and from the Republic of Armenia in 13 destinations during the tourist season. During the previous year, the passenger flow was 46.7 percent more compared to the indicator of 2022 - 5 million 425 thousand 76, of which 1 million 817 thousand 321 belong to local airlines. The share of passenger transportation of Armenian airlines made 33.5 percent of the total air transportation compared to 24 percent of the previous year.

It was noted that in 2023, in order to continuously ensure the quality of work and services provided in the field of flight and aviation safety and air transportation, state supervision, inspections and studies were carried out, the number of which reached 200. In 2023, the number of certificates and permits issued to carry out activities in the aviation system was 536.

Prime Minister Pashinyan noted that one of the important topics of the previous discussions was the continuous improvement of the safety standards of local airlines. "Now I want to understand what events took place in this direction last year," said the Prime Minister.

Deputy Chairman of the Civil Aviation Committee Stepan Payaslyan noted that it is an ongoing work. “It's not so that we address it only from time to time. It is our constant work on a daily basis and all airlines are being supervised. Each department has its own schedule of audits, and each carries out the supervision of airlines in its own direction. There is no airline that can avoid inspection. We have agreed that it should be something permanent. It's not like there's an audit once or twice a year, it's divided into phases."

Responding, the Prime Minister noted: "The airline is under constant supervision, because today we can check and it can be normal, but within two years its parameters may deteriorate."

During the previous year, around 500 new jobs were created in the aviagion sector.

It was noted that the first Armenian Boeing 737/400 cargo aircraft was brought to Armenia by the "Hayways" company, and the German "Lufthansa Cargo" airline entered the Armenian aviation market.

Referring to the import of the cargo plane, Nikol Pashinyan noted. "You said a cargo plane was imported. Do we already have, or is this the first aircraft that should operate and has already made a flight, transported cargo from Armenia?"

Mihran Khachatryan noted that the aircraft is in Armenia, it will start cargo transportation in March after receiving the airline's aircraft operator's certificate.

Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan noted that if in 2022 every fourth passenger was transported by Armenian airlines, then last year every third passenger was transported by an Armenian airline. "Regarding the "Highways" company, I think this is also an achievement, we are in the final stage. There will be the first Armenian airline, which is a specialized cargo transportation company. We have quite a large growth in the direction of cargo transportation, and of course, that company will also provide other services for the needs of the state," the minister noted.

It was reported that a number of large-scale changes were made to withdraw from the EU Air Safety List. New qualified inspectors joined the Committee, 2 new professional structural divisions were formed, new salary calculation coefficients were introduced. In order to improve the qualifications of the committee's employees, continuous trainings were carried out.

In 2023, a number of steps were taken to develop general aviation and small aviation, as well as international cargo transportation.

In August 2023, the aviation event "Armenia Air Fest" was organized on the territory of the former "Stepanavan" airport.

During the consultation, a number of issues related to the training and recruitment of personnel in the aviation sector were also discussed. Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized the development of this strategically important sector and gave concrete instructions to those responsible for personnel training.