More than 5 million Passengers Handled by Armenian Airports in 11 Months of 2023

YEREVAN — Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan said today that the Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan and the Shirak Airport in Gyumri handled over 5 million passengers and 40,971 flights during the first 11 months of 2023.

According to him, almost 10,000 more flights were served than in the same time span of last year.

‘This means that the airport is working in an overloaded mode. Now negotiations are underway to build a new terminal to serve the growing passenger traffic without problems,’ Sanosyan said.

The Minister noted that 1.7 million passengers or 34% used the services of Armenian airlines.

He also informed that NovAir which uses small L-410 aircraft capable of carrying up to 17 passengers has carried out 22 flights since August, transporting a total of just 189 passengers to and from Kapan.

Regular commercial flights between Yerevan and Kapan have continued even after Azerbaijani troops repeatedly fired at the Armenian border town’s airport four months ago, Sanosyan said on Friday.

Later in August, the Armenian government notified the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) about the shootings and asked the 193-nation body to help prevent a repeat of such incidents.

Sanosyan told reporters that the twice-weekly service has continued since then and will be maintained next year. He said the government has purchased more sophisticated navigation and meteorological equipment for the Kapan airport that will minimize flight disruptions caused by bad weather.