Armenia aviation moves toward EU blacklist exit? Deputy Minister has the answer

It will become clear on December 8 or 9 whether Armenia’s aviation sector will be removed from the EU blacklist, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Armen Simonyan said.

Speaking in the Armenian parliament, he responded to the question on the matter from Sisak Gabrielyan, an MP from the “Civil Contract” faction, saying that during this period the Armenian Civil Aviation Committee and European partners had implemented a number of programs, including changes based on the results of an ICAO audit conducted in 2024, Caliber.Az reports per Armenian media.

“After the preliminary audit, the Armenian Civil Aviation Committee asked its EU partners to conduct an audit and issue a conclusion on the 41 deficiencies identified in 2020. From September 1 to 5 this year, the EU carried out an audit, the results of which were discussed in Brussels on November 19, and we were told that we would learn the final decision on December 8 or 9,” Simonyan said.

It should be recalled that in 2020, the European Commission placed all Armenian airlines on the aviation safety blacklist. This meant that carriers were banned from operating in the airspace of EU member states due to non-compliance with international aviation safety standards. Armenia appeared on this list alongside countries such as Afghanistan, Angola, Congo, Nepal, Sudan, and others.

Nevertheless, on November 15, 2021, Armenia and the European Union signed an aviation agreement. However, the implementation of this agreement is only possible if Armenia continues to harmonise its national legislation with EU norms in areas such as aviation safety, air traffic management, environmental protection, economic regulation, and consumer rights protection.

By Jeyhun Aghazada