The Armenian government will provide up to ֏250,000 ($670) in financial compensation per person to Armenian citizens who were forced to book new tickets to return to Armenia after their original flights were cancelled amidst the Iran war. Earlier, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said it would be unfair to expect the government to cover such costs.
If the newly purchased tickets cost less, the compensation will equal the amount actually paid, Mirzoyan said in a Facebook post on Saturday.
Saturday’s decision, however, marked an apparent U-turn from earlier remarks by Mirzoyan.
On 4 March, during a government–parliament Q&A session, Mirzoyan highlighted efforts to organise the safe return of Armenian nationals, but added that the government would not provide financial support to citizens stranded in Asia or the Middle East after flights were disrupted by the war in Iran that began on 28 February.
The remark came in response to a question from an MP who cited media reports claiming that it cost up to $1,400 for citizens to reach Yerevan.
‘I know a specific private case who has been in Sri Lanka for almost a month posting photos in a swimsuit as much as possible, that means they are financially capable, right? They can buy a ticket’, Mirzoyan said. He also assessed it as ‘a bit unfair toward the government’, further suggesting that many Armenians in those countries were likely there on vacation.
‘There will also be other groups and other segments, we will think about it and consider, of course, the issue of taking that financial burden on ourselves as well’, Mirzoyan said.
Three days after his statement, Mirzoyan announced his ministry’s initiative to compensate travel expenses, following online outcry highlighting that not all Armenian nationals can afford expensive holidays. Many plan trips a year in advance to secure affordable options.
One such post was made by Arpi Bekaryan, who was in Thailand on vacation with friends. She wrote in a Facebook post that planning the trip a year ahead allowed them to pay only $150 for flights and $550 for a 10-day hotel stay.
‘We never planned for tickets costing $1,000 or more. That didn’t fit our budget then, and it still doesn’t’, Bekaryan wrote, noting that after their cancelled flight, alternative flights to Armenia could cost at least $1,000. On top of that, they would need to cover additional expenses for extra days, including hotel and daily costs.
In addition to the newly adopted initiative to provide financial compensation, the Armenian authorities also provide a free bus transfer from Dubai, UAE, to Muscat Airport in Oman, a journey of around 400 kilometres, from where Armenian authorities secured flights to Armenia.
Highlighting the work of the Foreign Ministry assisting Armenian nationals since the beginning of the war, Mirzoyan noted that flights no longer operate along the usual Muscat–Yerevan route due to increasing costs.
‘I was told that the cost of one flight is $170,000’, Mirzoyan said.
The flight from Oman is operated by FlyOne, an airline owned by the family of the ruling Civil Contract party MP Khachatur Sukiasyan, with tickets starting at €1,100 ($1,270), according to RFE/RL.
Over the weekend, the Armenian authorities also announced that from 28 February to 6 March, citizens of 41 countries departed Iran through Armenia, without specifying the number of evacuees.
Since the escalation, the Armenian–Iranian land border has closed for two times, the Armenian authorities said the checkpoint was shut due to a technical failure on the Iranian side, with the crossing open only to lorries.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
