Yerevan-Kapan Passenger Flights Officially Launched

KAPAN — NovAir Armenian airline began regular commercial flights between Yerevan and the south Armenian town of Kapan, the administrative center of Syunik province.

The inaugural 50-minute flights went ahead as planned on Monday morning, with NovAir using small L-410 aircraft capable of carrying up to 17 passengers.

A spokeswoman for the Armenian government’s Civil Aviation Committee told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that there were only two passengers on each of those flights. They included Syunik Governor Robert Ghukasian’s deputy and adviser, according to the provincial administration.

The private carrier plans to carry out such flights twice a week.

The Kapan airport came under fire on Friday less than 24 hours after a plane carrying Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan landed there. According to Armenia’s state border guard service, three gunshots were fired from Azerbaijani army positions overlooking the facility, damaging its roof and one of the windows.

Another shooting incident was reported on Saturday. Karen Balyan, an aide to the governor of Armenia’s Syunik province said on Monday that airport employees heard gunfire several minutes after a plane carrying other senior officials from Yerevan touched down on the runway.