Azerbaijani planes could not fly over Armenian airspace without permission – expert

The Azeri plane could not fly through the airspace of Armenia without permission, otherwise the air force would have imposed a forced landing,” aviation expert Navik Khachatryan told Factor․am.

As early as on October 23, 2013, the Armenian government led by the then Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan adopted an “Open Skies Policy”, which extended to all European countries, allowing flights without restriction. It turns out that Azerbaijan had not used the Armenian airspace since 2013 at its own discretion, while Turkish planes regularly passed through the airspace of Armenia. Prior to the signing of the 2013 Open Skies Policy, flights were operated under an interstate agreement, with each country deciding whether to allow flights from one country to another.

“Now, whoever wants to make a flight, must write an application that I want to fly through your territory at a certain day, at a certain time, and you have no right to refuse, because you have an ‘Open Skies policy,” Khachatryan says. The expert also mentions that even during the war, the Turkish Silk way airline flew cargo planes to Azerbaijan almost every day, transporting terrorists to Baku.

Turkey prohibits the flight of Armenian-registered planes through its airspace without any explanation.