Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has outlined plans for major reforms in Armenia’s civil aviation sector, stressing the need to address expertise gaps, align with international standards, and restructure the Civil Aviation Committee into a more efficient body.

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting on April 23, Prime Minister Pashinyan said that Armenia’s civil aviation sector faces systemic challenges that require fundamental solutions. The Armenian government will cooperate with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in this regard.

“This topic is quite mature, and we must face the reality that we lack the knowledge needed to properly respond to and position ourselves within modern aviation systems,” the Prime Minister said.

He noted that addressing this gap requires extraordinary measures, including bringing in highly qualified specialists and introducing new management mechanisms.

“To fill this knowledge gap, certain extraordinary steps are needed, including inviting qualified professionals, creating appropriate structures, and restructuring the Civil Aviation Committee so that it can also generate services and have its own budget,” Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister stressed that these changes would make it possible to ensure competitive salaries and attract top international experts.

“We must be able to offer competitive salaries on the international market and invite high-level specialists from around the world to work for the Republic of Armenia,” he said.

Pashinyan also noted that there are currently numerous procedural obstacles that have prevented such reforms from being implemented.

“We have many procedural barriers that have not allowed us to do this so far, but we have fundamentally decided that the Civil Aviation Committee should have a special status, given the rapid developments in the sector,” he emphasized.

He added that the government plans to cooperate with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to choose the best governance model.

“We must work with the International Civil Aviation Organization to receive advice on what structures and models to choose that will comply with our legislation and international standards,” Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the importance of fully implementing international aviation safety standards.

“When we say aviation safety, we must understand it as safety defined by modern international standards. Trying to say that we should be guided by our own specifics will not work,” he stated.

Pashinyan also presented growth indicators in the sector.

“Compared to 2017, passenger traffic from Armenia to the European Union countries has increased by 580 percent. This means we must significantly expand air transport to the EU and beyond,” he noted.

According to him, this growth further demonstrates the need to develop the sector in line with international standards.

The Cabinet approved a decision aimed at reforms in the civil aviation sector, which includes restructuring the Civil Aviation Committee into a revenue-generating body.

The decision also allocates about 321 million drams (roughly $840,000 USD) from the government’s reserve fund to ensure oversight and regulation in the aviation sector, as well as establish cooperation with ICAO to bring the sector in line with international standards.