Epress.am News from Armenia
Armavia airline has reached an agreement with Zvartnots International Airport, according to a statement by the Armenian air carrier. No other details were conveyed by Armavia press secretary Nana Avetisova. And if earlier Armavia owner Mikhail Baghdasarov had announced that the company would file for bankruptcy if Zvartnots didn’t reduce its rates by 25%, well a large portion of the statement issued earlier today was devoted to the expanding its flights to new locations. The company is preparing for a “busy summer” and intends to acquire new types of aircraft.
Recall, negotiations between the the airport and the airline on airport tariffs wrapped up yesterday when General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia press secretary Nelly Cherchinyan informed Epress.am the two parties had reached an agreement. However, Armavia soon issued a statement saying that nothing was clear as the airport had changed its position.
Zvartnots declined to comment on the Armavia statement, saying that there was agreement at the end of their meeting and at this time they were unaware of any dissatisfaction on the part of Armavia.
Recall, on Mar. 6, Armavia, citing increasing airport tariffs, went on strike, suspending Yerevan-Moscow and Yerevan-Rostov flights that morning. Armavia owner Mikhail Baghdasarov had previously informed reporters that the company would file for bankruptcy if Zvartnots didn’t reduce its rates by 25%. An Armavia spokesperson also said that the Zvartnots’ airport services are three times higher than Moscow airports and on average two times more expensive than in Europe (1.5 times more expensive than Paris airports; 2.5 times more than in Rome).