YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — A senior executive of Ryanair on Wednesday, August 21, reportedly confirmed the Irish budget airline’s plans to launch regular flights between Europe and Armenia.
Ryanair’s chief commercial officer, David O’Brien, and director of route development, Kate Sherry, discussed the matter with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a visit to Yerevan.
An Armenian government statement cited O’Brien as telling Pashinyan that Ryanair “intends to enter the Armenian aviation market soon” and is now negotiating with Armenia’s civil aviation authority and main airport operator for that purpose. He presented concrete flights planned by the airline and its “tariff policy” for them, said the statement.
Pashinyan welcomed those plans, saying that Ryanair flights to and from Armenia would benefit the country’s tourism industry. He expressed hope that the two sides will work out a “concrete variant of mutually beneficial cooperation.”
O’Brien and Sherry held a separate dinner meeting on Tuesday with Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian and Tatevik Revazian, the head of the Armenian government’s Civil Aviation Committee. Revazian negotiated with Ryanair representatives in Dublin early this year before announcing in March that the Irish carrier is planning to fly to Armenia.
Revazian, who was also present at Pashinyan’s meeting the visiting Ryanair executives, announced in July that Ryanair as well as another Western low-cost airline, Wizz Air, are ready to launch flight services next year if they are granted financial concessions.
