Armenia needs a public air carrier to back up lifeline air routes, Tigran Altun, Istanbul-based businessman of Armenian origin, told Armenia News - NEWS.am.

Altun, who owns Tower Turizm, a local tour operator in Turkey, was one of the organizers of direct flights between Yerevan and Istanbul, run by a Turkish carrier, Atlasjet.

According to the entrepreneur, a public copany will be viewed as a sound partner for intenatoinal leasing companies, air carriers, and airports.

«We used to have an aviation company, then another, and both failed. Now Air Armenia is in turmoil. I haven’t asked, but I’m sure that after such a record, any leasing company will doubt whether to be engaged in business with Armenian carriers. That means either a private businessman will have to buy a plane on its own, which is hardly possible, or the Armenian state will have to support him with a sovereign guarantee», he told.

Another reason is the need to back up key air routes, if private carriers discard them as unprofitable.

«An entire nation cannot depend on some private enterpsise. If it withdraws an important flight, a public carrier must step up to cater people. Not for my or someone else’s sake, but for the sake of Armenia», Altun stressed.