Resumption of Air Traffic Between Russia and Georgia: Negative Impact on Armenian Carriers.

In Armenia, they are still calculating how much damage the aviation sector of the republic will suffer, how much passenger traffic will decrease at local airports with the resumption of air traffic between Russia and Georgia. However, it is already obvious that the rapprochement between Moscow and Tbilisi in the field of civil aviation will have a negative impact on Armenian carriers, Sputnik Armenia news agency writes today, May 22.

Russia interrupted air communication with Georgia in July 2019, then the airlines found an alternative option for operating flights – in transit through other countries. A connecting flight via Yerevan turned out to be one of the most popular in the direction Moscow-Yerevan-Tbilisi. At the same time, the frequency of flights of Armenian airlines on the route Yerevan-Tbilisi-Yerevan increased sharply – from five to 10-20 per day.

Although the first direct flight between Moscow and Tbilisi was performed only on May 19, the cancellation of flights from Yerevan to the capital of Georgia has already begun in Armenia. Mostly suspended flights for which the Armenian capital is a transit link between Georgia and Russian cities.

One of the first was the Armenian airline Air Dilijans. Since May 22, the air carrier has canceled all flights on the Yerevan-Tbilisi-Yerevan route. At the same time, Air Dilijans does not exclude the possibility of launching direct flights from Yerevan to Tbilisi in the near future, noting that everything depends on demand.

The situation in the Fly Arna airline, which also operates flights to the Georgian capital, turned out to be more stable. Sputnik Armenia reported that they would monitor the situation, but at the moment, the resumption of Moscow-Tbilisi flights had no effect on their flights.

“We are monitoring to see what impact this might have on us. There are currently no flight cancellations or flight schedule changes.” — indicated in the airline.

Fly Arna explained that aviation is a dynamically developing industry and the resumption of flights between Russia and Georgia may have different consequences. If transit flights are more profitable for passengers, then the demand for flights through Yerevan may remain at the same level.

The General Department of Civil Aviation (GUCA) of Armenia, in an interview with the publication, noted that the resumption of flights between Russia and Georgia will affect the number of flights through Yerevan operated by Armenian carriers. However, they cannot give an exact estimate at the present time.

“This will entail consequences, but to what extent and how it is impossible to say yet,” – noted in the GUGA.

They also stressed that a lot depends on the airlines themselves: if it is possible to ensure profitability, then flights will remain at the same frequency, if not, then carriers can reduce the frequency of flights, or even leave the market altogether.

As reported EADailythe Georgian airline Georgian Airways had previously canceled transit flights to Moscow via Yerevan, as from last Saturday, May 20, direct flights to the Russian capital began.