The only airline of Armenia, the Air Armenia suspended passenger transportations until Dec. 20, 2014, the Arminfo agency reported citing a message from the airline.
An earlier statement of the Russian Federal Air Navigation Service (Rosaeronavigatsia), disseminated by the Russian media, said that as of late last September, Air Armenia would be prohibited to conduct flights to Russia, and this led to a 60-percent fall in ticket sales, the message said.
"The statement caused serious problems for the Air Armenia. It was picked up by the Armenian media, which affected the airline's image and began to lead to financial losses. As a result, the company's sales fell by 80 percent," according to the report.
Reportedly, all this caused panic among creditors and debtors.
"Many passengers began to return the purchased tickets, and many began abandoning the Armenian air carrier's services. Simultaneously, all lenders began to demand the owed money, rejecting the previously agreed payment schedules, and debtors refused to pay the price of tickets sold already," the message said.
As a result, the airline's revenues fell to a critical minimum, and currently, it is impossible to transport passengers, the company said.
In the current situation, the company's management decided to conduct financial restructuring, and change the flight schedule to resume Dec. 20.
"During this period, it is envisaged to bring funds and to work to return two A320 aircraft owned by the Air Armenia, and from Dec. 20 to start conducting all flights scheduled for early winter," the message said.
Air Armenia was established in 2003 and initially was engaged in cargo transportations.
Edited by CN