Armavia employees continue protests
A group of employees of Armenia's Armavia Airline today held another protest in front of the Company's head office, demanding their salaries of several months.
Arsen Maghakyan, one of the pilots of the company, says he is going to leave Armenia because of grave social conditions. He says Armavia owes him 4,5 mln drams in wages. The Company had 60 pilots most of whom have already found a job with foreign air carriers.
Finding the doors of the head office closed, the protesters marched to the governmental building.
Armenia's last national airline, Armavia, ceased operations on April 1, 2013, over grave financial problems. In a statement released later on the day, the Company linked its inability to pay debts to the consequences of the world economic crisis that has hit the aviation industry hard and has caused the bankruptcy or liquidation of several major carriers such as American Airlines and Russia's Kuban.
Founded in 1996 by Armenian businessman Mikhail Bagdasarov, Armavia owns one Airbus A320, three Boeing 737, and four medium-range planes.
The Company served 48 destinations in Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Armavia's bankruptcy leaves Armenia without a national air carrier, since the other state-owned carrier, Armenian Airlines, went bankrupt in 2003.
