Potential development of Goris Airport

Momberger

The country’s highest airport is in Jermuk at an altitude of 2,070 m, serving a town in Vayots Dzor Province. Jermuk’s airport is not only unique because of its elevation: The northern end of its runway is 45 meters higher than its southern end. In other words, the Jermuk runway is quite steep, a feature that can be seen with the naked eye. The airport has been in operation since 1956. Initially, the runway was gravel, only suitable for 12-seat An-2 aircraft, Soviet mass-produced single engine biplanes. Sometimes, helicopters also flew to Jermuk. In 1966, a terminal was built in Jermuk, which is still standing. However, after ten years, the runway was still gravel, which meant that it could be used mainly by An-2s. In 1976, an asphalt overlay was applied, and the runway length was 1,640 m, with a width of 28 m, but it was about 700 m shorter than required. Filling this gap resulted in the 45 m height difference between the runway’s two ends that meant after landing on the inclined runway, aircraft coming from the south soon lost speed and stopped earlier than planned due to the incline. On take-off, given that aircraft started at a higher point, aircraft left the ground faster than on a flat runway. Thus, the slope worked in favour of the shortness of the asphalt runway. On the other hand, since Jermuk Airport is in a very difficult topographical location, nestled in the hills, it was necessary to develop a proper flight plan, which was drafted and approved by the USSR Ministry of Civil Aviation and the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation. In December 1976, the first Yerevan - Jermuk flight, on a Yak-40 aircraft, took place. Although Jermuk Airport operated all year long, winter flights were sporadic. Yerevan's Erebuni Airport, which served Armenia's domestic air routes, was the only point with which Jermuk had a regular air connection with only one Yak-40 daily flight. This was eventually cancelled, leaving only the An-2s, whose flights had also declined, and the last one was in 1989. Since the 1990s, only helicopters carrying high-ranking government officials have used Jermuk Airport. Eventually, the Armenian Civil Aviation Administration, in connection with the development of a union health resort in Jermuk, decided to build a new airport at a new location that could accommodate larger aircraft and link Jermuk directly with Moscow. Although preliminary approval for the project had been obtained, the plan was not implemented. The draft concept, developed by the General Department of Civil Aviation (now the Civil Aviation Committee), stated: "To assess the feasibility of restoring light aviation, the feasibility of relaunching the Vardenis, Gavar, Meghri, Kapan, Goris, Sisian and Jermuk airports has been explored." The Department of Civil Aviation viewed the development of light aviation in Jermuk from a tourism perspective. Concerned with the prospects of developing Armenia as a transit country for north-south traffic, it was concluded that the Goris Airport could become an alternative to the Zvartnots and Shirak airports in the republic given its distance and connections both with Nagorno-Karabakh and with the southern regions of Armenia. On the instruction of the Prime Minister, specialists from the Department of Civil Aviation and the Ministry should conduct a study in Goris. In other words, the airport in Goris, not Jermuk, was selected as an alternate and regional airport to the Yerevan and Gyumri airports, but this plan did not come true. And Jermuk did not have a new airport. The idea of developing small aviation in Jermuk was reopened by Karen Karapetyan's government (2016-2018). In October 2017, the latter presented a report of its last year (2016-2017), in which it noted in particular: “In order to assess the development potential of the small aviation sector in the Republic of Armenia, in 2017, the Civil Aviation Department, together with a number of other agencies of the Republic of Armenia, has studied transport flows in various directions. In addition, the General Directorate has studied the opportunities and assessments of city airport re-openings in Stepanavan, Jermuk, Sisian, Goris, Kapan, and Meghri (Agarak).” Within the framework of the ‘Comprehensive Light Aviation Development Programme in the Republic of Armenia’, which was a priority task of the Government in 2017, the General Department of Civil Aviation examined the operational status of the Stepanavan, Jermuk, Sisian, Goris, Meghri and Kapan airports and the reopening opportunities of the airports, approximate volumes, market analysis, and a pre-selection of aircraft type. The studies have been summarized by a corresponding letter submitted to the Government of Armenia and the relevant departments. -- It turned out that Jermuk Airport has been in private hands since 2006, and almost no one knew about it until now, thirteen years later. #1131.2