New terminal of Yerevan "Zvartnots" receives first passengers

On October 5, the new terminal of the Yerevan International Airport "Zvartnots" began its full-scale operation, although its official opening ceremony took place on September 16.

According to Gevorg Abramyan, the press secretary of the Airport, the delay had to do with complexities in the operation system and the need to wait for the "weak season", when they have not so many passengers.

"The general concept of the airport is to create the most comfortable passenger line: both the arriving and departing passengers should not waste their time searching the way out of the premises," said Mr Abramyan.

The simpler layout, as compared with other airports, will allow passengers to move along a straight line and easily reach the car park.

According to Andranik Shkhyan, Deputy Top Manager at the Closed Joint-Stock Company (CJSC) "Armenia - International Airports", the main criterion is to provide passengers with access to all the services operating at the airport. Passengers themselves will get a chance to see it, when they compare the Yerevan terminal with terminals in other cities.

Mr Shkhyan has added that from the security viewpoint the new terminal also complies with international standards. According to his story, it has X-ray monitors in place and other special automatic devices.

The complex can withstand 9-magnitude earthquakes, since the terminal was built on seismic cushions. In general, 160 million US dollars was allotted to build it.

"So far, there is no passengers' self-registration flight service at work," said Andranik Shkhyan. "The Airport is able to provide this service right now; however, airlines don't request it. Our passengers have another option: sitting at home, to get registered through the Internet; however, only 5 percent of them use it. It takes time for people to learn and start trusting the system."

Now, jointly with the Yerevan City Municipality, they discuss and develop a procedure for passengers to easier reach the airport. In the meantime, they come to the "Zvartnots" by fixed-route taxis; the fare being 200 drams. The taxis get to the airport in about a half hour; the interval is 30-40 minutes.

In a month from now, they plan to commission another hall. Today, the airport serves annually 1.1 million passengers. With the opening of the new terminal, the figure may go up to 3.5 million.

Mikhail Bagdasarov, the owner of the national airline "Armavia", said that the new terminal is not inferior to those in other countries. He is confident that the faultless operation and the rendered services will attract more tourists to Armenia. According to his story, in many airports you have to walk for kilometres before reaching a taxi; while here the distance from the terminal to the car park is just 20 meters.

"First impressions about a country are the aircraft and the airport. Here, everything is arranged in great space, at the same time very comfortable. I myself have just come from Moscow; and my first impressions of the terminal are that it was not in vain that we had waited for it for so long," said Bagdasarov.