57th FORUM OF ECAC DIRECTORS GENERAL HELD IN YEREVAN
YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, NOYAN TAPAN. A document on raising the safety from
terrorism in the aviation sphere will be signed at the 57th special
forum of the Directors General of the European Civil Aviation
Conference (ECAC) being held in Yerevan on August 28 – September 1.
Besides, issues related to the development of aviation in the EU, a
reduction in prices of airport and aeronavigation services,
environmental protection in the aviation sphere will be discussed, a
report of Eurocontrol organization on control of the aeronavigation
sector and a report on development of civil aviation in Armenia will be
heard, the Head of the RA government-adjunct Main Department of Civil
Aviation Artyom Movsesian announced.
In his report following the opening address of the President of ECAC
Luis Fonseca de Almeida, A. Movsesian spoke about work to be done at
Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport. In particular, the airport’s
concessionaire – Corporacion America SA company have begun constructing
a departure terminal after finishing the construction of an arrival
terminal at the airport. A. Movsisian stated that the work is being
done quite rapidly, and in 2010 the airport will be brought into line
with European standards.
A. Movsesian also spoke about the audits performed by ECAC and the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Armenia’s civil
aviation sector, noting that high opinions were expressed after these
audits. These opinions will be posted on ICAO’s website. He also
presented the results of the operation of the national carrier Armavia:
there was a 11% growth in passenger traffic in January-July 2008 on the
same period of 2007, and a 20% growth in 2007 (573 thousand passengers)
on 2006.
Armenia’s deputy prime minister, minister of territorial administration
Armen Gevorgian made a speech, in which he underlined the role of civil
aviation in the development of Armenian economy, saying that one
evidence of it is that the authorized body of this sector has been
granted status of a body adjunct to the RA government. He pointed out
the proper level of flight and aviation safety. In his words, as long
ago as 2000, Armenian government adopted an aviation policy, which is
based on the condition that airport and aviation services shall be
mostly managed by the private sector. The minister reminded that in
accordance with the concession agreement signed on December 17, 2001,
the Armenian government transferred Zvartnots Airport to Corporacion
America SA, and thanks to the investments made afterwards Armenia now
has an airport with a completely repaired runway and an updated
lighting system. In his opinion, Zvartnots International Airport may
become a regional center, which will allow to develop transit
transportation due to Armenia’s favorable geographic location.
It was mentioned that Armavia airline has fully updated its fleet of
aircraft and now operates modern planes made in Europe. A. Gevorgian
added that the government is discussing a concept of creating a free
economic zone in the area near Zvartnots Airport. He expressed an
opinion that the creation of such a zone will contribute to a growth of
goods transportation by air which in its turn will promote development
of other branches of the economy. He said the proportionate and dynamic
development of civil aviation is also important for developing tourism,
a priority sector of Armenian economy.
Adrressing the problem of bringing the Armenian legislation on civil
aviation into line with that of EU, A. Gevorgian said that the Armenian
governmemt took notice of EU’s proposal and keeps under its control the
process of signing the agreement between the government of the RA and
the European Community on some aspects of air communication.
Forums of ECAC Directors General are held every year. The
organization’s membership numbers 42 European countries that are
represented by about 50 participants at the Yerevan forum.