Gnel Sanosyan on shelling of Syunik airport: Law enforcement agencies  working in this direction

ArmInfo. Law enforcement agencies are carrying out relevant work related to the recent  shelling of the Syunik airport in Kapan. Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of Armenia Gnel Sanosyan told journalists during a briefing.

, he noted. In this regard, Sanosyan stressed that the  aircraft of this domestic flight carries out its flights, takeoffs  and landings exclusively on the territory of Armenia.

In addition, he stated that before performing regular flights,  technical flights were carried out several times, and all possible  options were tested. ,  the minister noted, noting that all international conventions and  norms in the field of civil aviation have been observed.

Earlier, on August 18 at 04:24 am, an unknown person approached the  area near Syunik Airport in  Kapan from the Azerbaijani side, fired  three shots in the direction  of Syunik Airport in Kapan and left,  the Armenian National Security  Service (NSS) reports.

"Two of the bullets damaged one of the windows and the roof of the   airport. We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to conduct a proper  investigation into the incident and take measures to prevent the  recurrence of such incidents," the NSS said in a statement. 

At the same time, it is added that the Border Guard troops of the RA  NSS are ready to conduct joint  investigation and/or transfer  relevant videos to the Azerbaijani  side.

It should be noted that the construction of the Syunik airport, the  acquisition of property and the aircraft, the maintenance costs were  carried out at the expense of the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine  (ZCMC).

According to Vardan Dzhanyan, Deputy General Director of ZCMC, the  airport is of strategic importance not only for Syunik, but for the  whole country. "This is also important for ZCMC as the country's  largest enterprise, as regular flights will significantly improve  many logistical issues for the company's employees, partners and  guests. According to the decision of the relevant bodies, it is  planned to start regular flights in the near future, with full  compliance with all safety requirements," he emphasized.

It was noted that the flights will be operated by a licensed NovAir  airline with a 19-seat Czech-made aircraft (L-410 UVP-E20), and ZCMC  will, as far as possible, contribute to the process of creating an  affordable price for air tickets for the population.

The aircraft will operate domestic flights twice a week - on Mondays  and Fridays. The cost of a one-way ticket is set at 20,000 drams.  Tickets can be purchased at Syunik airport or NovAir office.  NovAir  LLC is an Armenian carrier based at Zvartnots International Airport  in Yerevan. The company, which is part of the Atlantis holding,  started the aviation business in Armenia back in 1999. In 2000-2003  the carrier operated charter flights to CIS cities, and in 2015 began  codeshare partnership with Austrian Airlines and Czech Airlines  (until 2018). In 2016, 100% of the shares owned by Atlantis Holding  were sold to UniBank, the purchase agreement sales was completed in  2018.