Armenia’s largest mine acquires 100% stake at country’s sole domestic airline

By Alexander Pracht

Armenia’s only domestic passenger airline, NovAir, has come under new ownership after its acquisition by the country’s largest mining company, investigative publication Hetq reported on Wednesday. Since last month, the sole owner of NovAir has been the charity fund of the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC), which previously owned only 50% of the shares.

The airline, founded in 2020, was previously owned by affiliates of Aram Marutyan, the Honorary Consul of Austria in Armenia.

The Zangezur mine also holds a 50% stake in the Kapan Airport, which is located in the southern Syunik region and acts as the base for NovAir’s operations. The remaining 50% of the airport is owned by a regional state fund. With the latest acquisition, the mining company now effectively controls the airline, its aircraft, and the infrastructure at Kapan Airport.

NovAir launched passenger flights between Yerevan and Kapan in August 2023, making it the first regular domestic flight since Armenia’s independence in 1991. The flights were temporarily suspended in February this year, reportedly due to scheduled maintenance of the aircraft in Czechia.

Former operator Atlantis Group confirmed it no longer has ties to NovAir, but stated that flights are expected to resume soon. This time, the service will run daily rather than three times a week. 

Even before the ownership transfer, NovAir tickets for the Yerevan–Kapan route were not available for online booking, a detail that hinted the service functioned more as a corporate transport link than a fully developed regional airline route, as described by the Armenian government. This distinction is significant, given Armenia’s long-standing struggle to revive domestic air travel to various parts of the country, a network that once flourished during Soviet times but collapsed after the Soviet Union’s dissolution. 

The Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine, which now effectively controls NovAir, is Armenia’s largest taxpayer. Nearly 22% of the company is owned by the Armenian government, while the remaining shares are held by entities linked to Russian billionaire Roman Trotsenko, who is under sanctions by the United States and the European Union.