Armenia’s Armavia selling its aircrafts and property

YEREVAN, May 29. /ARKA/. Armenia’s national air company Armavia has put up its aircrafts and property for sale, Nana Avetisova, the company’s press secretary, told ARKA News Agency. 

On April 1, 2013, Armavia stopped operating its flights and launched bankruptcy procedure. 

“The sooner we sell our aircrafts and property, the sooner we’ll pay our employees’ back wages, refund the price of tickets sold and repay our debt,” Avetisova said. 

She said that Armavia has some debtors fr om which the company expects money. 

Avetisova found it difficult to say how many aircrafts Armavia put up for sale. 

According to Armavia’s official website, the company has eight aircrafts, including CRJ, Boeing and Airbus planes.

The Armavia spokeswoman also refrained fr om revealing the amount of the company’s debt saying it is a commercial secret. 

On May 22, Armenian Finance Minister David Sargsyan said that the government’s State Revenue Committee had filed a suit against the national air carrier over levying so-called air tax.  

Andranik Shkheyan, deputy chief manager of Armenia – International Airports, which runs Armenia’s international airport Zvartnots that in 2001 was handed over by the government to Argentinean American International Airports owned by Argentinean citizen of Armenian descent Eduardo Eurnekian for a 30-year concessional management, on his side, told journalists that the government has taken the case to court demanding 17 billion drams. He said that Armavia owes about $5.536 million to Zvartnots.

Armavia returned the first of the two Sukhoi SuperJet 100 planes ordered earlier explaining its move by shoddy assemblage of the aircraft. The second has not been delivered at all, and Mikhail Bagdasarov, the owner of Armavia, said his company owed nothing to Sukhoi. 

However, the management of Sukhoi company said that Armavia has not paid for the first aircraft about $4 million. 

Media reports in Armenia say Armavia’s debts are not lim ited to liabilities toward Sukhoi. 

According to Haykakan Zhamanak, it owes also $22 million to VTB Bank, which had lent this money to enable the company to purchase Sukhoi SuperJets 100 and pay its employees back wages for two or three months. 

Armavia was established in 1996. In 2005, Mikhail Bagdasarov, MIKA Lim ited holding president, became the owner of the full package of the company’s shares. 

Before its bankruptcy Armavia operated more than 100 flights a week to 40 destinations in 20 countries. M.V.---0----