STEPANAKERT (Yerkir Media)—The Stepanakert Airport will begin operations this summer, according to the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Civil Aviation Department head Tigran Gabrielyan.
He told Novosti Armenia that the government has approved all necessary facets, including flight rules and tarrifs.
“Presently, we are completing all documents. The airport and air navigation service are in the process of certification. We are trying to create all legal components that will allow us to carry out flights according to international standards, as well as to do everything so that the adopted legal acts and orders are in complete accordance with ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization] requirements and limitations. We are in the final stages of this process,” explained Gabrielyan.
The civil aviation head said that while final pricing has not been determined, the anticipation is that it would affordable, with regular flights taking place every day, with plans to increase the daily schedule depending on demand.
Gabrielyan explained that the airport has a capacity for 100 passengers per hour. He also announced that the carrier will called Air Artsakh.
In an earlier talk with Novosti Armenia, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Prime Minister Ara Harutunyan that while initially the airport will operate round trip services from Stepanakert to Yerevan, in the future it will operate flights to other destinations.
The announcement last year of the completion of the airport construction and its operation prompted Azerbaijan to threaten to shoot down passenger flights and other hostility. In response President Serzh Sarkisian said he would be the first passenger on the flight.
At the time, Sarkisian also said that he people of the Nagorno-Karabakh had the inalienable right to use their airspace.
From past experience we have learnt that when Armenian officials talk about the “imminent” opening of Stepanakert airport, that only means…sometime in the future….
I’d say in about 2017…maybe?
Credibility they have not!
I hope Pres. Sargsyan keeps his promise and is the first passenger on board.
Watch the Azeris start barking at lightning speed, as usual. You will be “persona non grata” and banned from the great country of Azerbaijan if you happen to visit Karabakh – thereby “violating Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity” blah blah blah.
I guess me and my family are on that list, and about 29 American physicians, nurses and students that visited Artsakh from Buffalo NY and performed over 120 operations, this past week. Artsakh is in my heart and soul.
The ironic thing is that Turkish contractors help build this airport.
do you have a prove ? of course NOT !
Nonsense: the builders of the airport bought some metal shaping machinery thru 3rd parties that turned out to be made in Turkey. What of it ? Pretty much all machinery built in Turkey is of European, mainly German design, manufactured in European/German design factories.
Labor is cheap in Turkey, so Europeans have things manufactured there.
Pretty good quality at competitive prices.
If Germans came and placed a turnkey factory anywhere in Armenia, RoA could sell the same quality machinery at even lower prices than Turkey. Wouldn’t mean it is of Armenian origin.
So what Turkish “contractors helping build” are you talking about ?
Actually Smbat Turkish Air Traffic components went into the Stepanakert Airport. Not Turkish Contractors.
I stand corrected