By Astghik Bedevian
YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Turkey has reportedly banned a cargo plane from flying from Europe to Armenia through Turkish airspace.
Hetq.am reported that a Boeing 777F of Ethiopian Airlines hired by an Armenian cargo company had to turn away from Turkish airspace at the last minute and return to the Belgian city of Liege on July 9. The publication cited a company executive as saying that the plane carried various consumer goods purchased by online shoppers in Armenia as well as neighboring Georgia. Another Ethiopian Airlines jet transported them to Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport on Wednesday, July 10, after choosing a longer transit route through Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
The Armenian government’s Civil Aviation Committee confirmed on July 12 that the Ethiopian-based carrier had prior permission to fly over Turkey. The committee could not say why Turkish aviation authorities revoked it without any explanation.
“It’s not pleasant to hear such news,” Hakob Arshakyan, a deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament, told reporters.
“I don’t know whether it was a political decision or there was a technical problem,” said Arshakyan. He said he hopes that Ankara will remove such hurdles in line with interim normalization agreements with Yerevan reached two years ago.
