Ryanair is discussing possible entry to the Armenian market next year, as the budget carrier unveiled its first services to Georgia.
Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan and other senior government figures have met with Ryanair management personnel including commercial chief David O'Brien and route development director Kate Sherry.
The prime minister says the government is prioritising tourism and views civil aviation as being important to development of the sector.
Ryanair intends to enter the Armenian market "in the near future", the government states, indicating 2020 as a provisional timeframe. The carrier is holding talks with the country's Civil Aviation Committee and Yerevan's Zvartnots airport.
The prime minister welcomes the plan, says the government, and has expressed "readiness" to support the carrier's plans to commence services.
Ryanair has detailed an expansion into the Caucasus region with its first routes to neighbouring Georgia.
It is to operate services to the capital Tbilisi from Milan Bergamo and Cologne, as well as links to Kutaisi from Bologna and Marseille.
The routes will commence in November except for the Cologne-Tbilisi link which starts in April 2020.
Ryanair operates a fleet of Boeing 737-800 jets. "We look forward to developing new Georgian traffic growth, new routes and jobs in the coming years," says O'Brien.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
