Mihran Khachatryan, chairman of the Civil Aviation Committee, told "Hetkin" that in 2025 In the fall, the audit conducted by the European Commission in KAC and two Armenian airlines did not reveal such deficiencies that could have a direct impact on the safety of flights or pose a threat to their safe provision. Hetk writes: Let's note that from the summer of 2020 until today, Armenian airlines are included in the EU "black list" (officially, the EU Air Safety List) and do not have the right to enter the EU airspace for commercial purposes.
The "Blacklist" is regularly updated by the European Commission (the main executive body of the EU) based on the opinion of experts from the EU Air Safety Committee (ASC). This committee is headed by the European Commission itself, supported by EASA, the European Aviation Safety Agency. In 2020, Armenia appeared on the "black list" of the EU based on the studies and conclusions of EASA. The Armenian side signed a cooperation program with EASA in 2021, which was implemented in 2022-2023. It should have supported us to make appropriate reforms and get out of the "black list" as a result.
However, the auditors of the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, who arrived in Armenia in January 2024, agreed with EASA in 2022-2023. considered the cooperation insufficient, justifying that the representatives of the European side did not have the appropriate qualifications. This time, Armenia is in real and almost inevitable danger of being on the "black list" of ICAO. Nevertheless, thanks to the bilateral cooperation with a number of European countries and the support of the EU, the representatives of KAC were able to implement all the necessary steps in 5 months, and Armenian aviation did not appear on the ICAO "black list". All our airlines have been audited by both ICAO and experts invited from partner countries.
It turned out that there is no airline in Armenia that has a Level 1 finding (a violation of the first level, in case of which it would be necessary to urgently stop, suspend or limit the activity of the given airline). In other words, Armenian airlines meet ICAO standards. ICAO said your airworthiness and flight performance areas are normal, your control functions are good. We are on the EU's "black list" because of these," Mihran Khachatryan told "Hetkin" last year. After ICAO's positive response, the Armenian side turned to the European Commission's Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) in October 2024, stating that the Armenian side is ready for a new visit by Europeans in order to leave the EU "black list" for a final assessment. We asked Mihran Khachatryan last year, whether it is possible that after successfully passing the ICAO "examination" the KAC will fail to leave the EU "black list", Khachatryan responded. "They should say that they do not agree with ICAO's decision?"
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