News - The Civil Aviation Committee has suspended the NovaAir license to operate flights from Yerevan to Kapan.

The Civil Aviation Committee of Armenia has suspended the air operator certificate (AOC) of the operator of the Yerevan–Kapan–Yerevan flights, known as Novair. This is the document without which no airline can engage in commercial operations. The CAC suspended Novair's AOC for six months, until April 27, 2026. This step by the Committee is required by law. The government-approved procedure for issuing an AOC defines that to obtain or maintain the certificate the carrier must either own at least one aircraft fit for flight or lease (sublease) at least one such aircraft, or have signed a memorandum of intent to acquire, lease, or sublease at least one fit aircraft. Novair has one aircraft: a Czech-made L-410UVP-E20 type airplane (registration EK-4117). As previously reported, on September 3–4 EK-4117 flew from Yerevan to Brno, Czech Republic, where it is currently undergoing technical maintenance. Novair’s director Karen Vardanyan told Hetq that if in March–April this year the aircraft underwent flight-hour maintenance in the Czech Republic, it is now undergoing ten-year calendar maintenance. Note that the aircraft named after writer Hamo Sahyan was manufactured in 2015, meaning it is undergoing calendar maintenance for the first time. According to Vardanyan, the planned maintenance will take 4–5 months, and if during that period Novair cannot lease another aircraft, which it is pursuing, then the Yerevan–Kapan–Yerevan flight will resume only after the L-410 is returned. If Novair does not acquire a new aircraft, there will be no air link between Yerevan and Kapan for 4–5 months. According to the CAC’s website, as of October 3 (one month after leaving for the Czech Republic) EK-4117 was still fit for flights, but if the CAC suspended the operator’s certificate on October 27, this means that the carrier’s sole aircraft is not fit for flights at least temporarily. Note that Novair’s AOC remains in effect until October 2040, but if by next April the operator does not have at least one airworthy aircraft (owned, leased, or subleased) or has not signed a memorandum to acquire, lease, or sublease such an aircraft, it will be stripped of the AOC. It should be noted that EK-4117 is owned by the Zanghezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine charitable foundation, which is also the owner of Novair. If everything goes according to plan, the L-410’s maintenance should be completed by spring 2026, after which it will be ready for flights again. In this case Novair will not lose its AOC. Of course, there is also a second option — leasing a replacement aircraft — negotiations are under way, per Vardanyan. Once Novair signs at least a memorandum of intent to lease a new aircraft, the CAC will restore the airline’s AOC. Novair has been operating the Yerevan–Kapan–Yerevan route commercially since August 2023. In 2023 the airline carried 207 passengers, in 2024 1,365, and in January–September 2025 2,096. It is the only airline in Armenia performing domestic flights, and the Yerevan–Kapan–Yerevan route is currently the only domestic flight in our country. Photo: EK-4117 at Kapan’s Syunik Airport, 09.08.2024, credit: Marius Hyopner, russianplanes.net