YEREVAN. – Apparently, the debt of Armavia Airline Company, which belongs to businessman Mikhail Baghdasarov, will be paid from the state budget of Armenia; that is, from the pockets of the Armenian citizens, 168 Zham reports.

“We have learned that Armavia owes approximately $120 million to the airports, the aeronautical services of a variety of countries.

“And why should a private company’s debt be paid from the state budget?

“The problem is that the Armenian Government-Affiliated General Department of Civil Aviation [GDCA] had granted permission to Armavia to conduct flights; the sector was a monopoly, and the GDCA shares the responsibility.         

“In such cases, the creditors apply to the relevant authority (the one that permits the flights), and if the problem is not resolved, the liabilities are passed to the state.

“When the state issues a license to any [airline] company, it must be informed whether or not it can conduct flights,” 168 Zham writes.       

Armavia Airline Company, which was Armenia’s national air carrier, suspended its flights as of April 1 and declared about starting a process of bankruptcy. The company had financial difficulties in recent times, due to which many of its flights were being canceled.