Armenia almost completed work for removing six airlines from EU aviation "blacklist" - Civil Aviation Committee

He said 6 Armenia-certified airlines operating international flights account for more than 30% of the air traffic.

In an interview with Armenia’s Public Television he said flights to Europe have certain restrictions.  "Yes, there is a problem. But there are solutions as well," Payaslyan said.

In 2020 the European Commission updated the EU Air Safety List, according to which all the airlines certified in Armenia have no right to perform flights to the EU countries, with the exception of evacuation and humanitarian flights, as well as flights for medical purposes. The decision was made after a hearing with the Civil Aviation Committee of Armenia and six Armenian airlines.

On November 16, 2022 the Armenian parliament ratified the Agreement on the Common Aviation Area between the Republic of Armenia, on the one hand, and the European Union and its Member States, on the other hand", which was signed in Brussels on November 15, 2021. Under the agreement, Armenia had to align its legislation with EU aviation rules and standards in areas such as aviation safety, air traffic management, security, the environment, economic regulation, competition, consumer protection and social aspects within the next 2 years.

Payaslyan said on Thursday that after 2020, the Committee developed a roadmap to overcome the situation, based on which all necessary work was carried out. Thus, more than 50 legislative amendments have been developed and proposed over the past three years.

"Thanks to this, we managed to bring this area  closer to European standards. In addition, we managed to conclude a two-year contract with the European Aviation Safety Agency," Stepan Payaslyan said. -0-