YEREVAN. - Head of the Nagorno-Karabakh Civil Aviation Department Dmitry Atbashyan refuted the reports that the opening of the Stepanakert airport has been postponed.

“No specific date has been fixed so there is nothing to postpone,” Mr. Atbashyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am. At present, all the necessary equipment is being delivered. “Some pieces of equipment will be delivered at the end of the year, but it has nothing to do with the opening date. This equipment is designed for very bad weather,” Atbashyan said. The weather equipment is to be delivered late in April or early in May. Installation will take some time as well, he said.

The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities’ plans to open a new airport in Stepanakert caused great indignation in Azerbaijan. Even threats to shoot airplanes down were uttered. In response, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan stated he would be the first passenger of the first Yerevan-Stepanakert flight.