Int’l carriers suspend Armenia ops as Azeri conflict flares

The escalation of a long-running conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region has seen Ukraine International Airlines (PS, Kyiv Boryspil) and various other carriers cancelling flights to Yerevan. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan imposed martial law as the countries accused each other for the renewed clashes from September 27, 2020. Heavy artillery fire from both sides resulted in nearly 100 casualties, including civilians, reported BBC and Euronews. Armenia released a picture of an Armenian Su-25 jet it claimed was shot down by a Turkish F-16 on September 29. Turkey, which is backing Azerbaijan, denied the claim. Following calls for a ceasefire from France, Russia and the US, Armenia on October 2 said it was prepared to engage with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to re-establish a ceasefire. The disputed region is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but ethnic Armenians have controlled the territory since a 1988-1994 war between the two former Soviet republics. The latest fighting was the heaviest seen in the long-running conflict since 2016, reports said. Azerbaijan banned all commercial passenger flights, except services to Turkey, amid the escalating conflict. While Yerevan remained open to commercial traffic, Armenia issued a NOTAM, asking all operators to monitor the status of large sections of airspace in the UDDD/Yerevan FIR near the eastern border. Tactical rerouting and short notice closures were likely and operators were advised to carry additional fuel accordingly, (UDDD NOTAM A0114/20), reports OpsGroup. In July 2020, both France and Germany issued airspace warnings for this border region, with the French NOTAM warning still in effect in September 2020, saying that overflights should be at FL340 or above. With no immediate cessation of the conflict in sight, SaveSpace, the independent conflict zone and risk database, recommended that operators avoid the border region between Azerbaijan and Armenia until the airspace safety picture improved.