Flights from Van to Yerevan to ease transportation

Friday, February 25, 2011

VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey’s Van Way Airlines is set to launch flights to Armenia from the eastern city of Van to provide transportation opportunities for businesspeople from both countries.

The flights will feature private airplanes rented by Arslan Bayram, a businessman from Van province. Bayram aims to accelerate the trade relations between businesspeople from Van and Armenia.

Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, Bayram said flights between Van and Yerevan will contribute to cultural, economic and faith tourism.

Turkish airline AtlastJet and Armenia’s national carrier Armavia regularly operate flights from Istanbul and the northern city of Trabzon to Armenia’s capital city Yerevan two times a week in the winter season. In the summer season, the companies also operate flights from Turkey’s Antalya and Bodrum to Yerevan.

“In addition to Armenia flights, we aim to expand our flight network to include Iraq and Iran. There are only a few procedures to achieve this goal,” Bayram said.

Noting that a possible friendship atmosphere with Armenia would please them, Bayram said, “Opening the border and establishing a peace environment will provide a boom for trade in both countries,” he said.

“Van is physically close to Armenia, but due to the closed borders, highway transportation is impossible. Trade between Armenia and the eastern cities of Turkey is provided through Georgia,” Bayram told the Daily News.

The border between the both countries was closed by Turkey unilaterally due to the Nagorno-Karabakh War between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 1993.

Increase in number of tourists

Bayram is also the owner of the Bayram Otel and Bestvan Tur, a tourism agency, in Van.

“We have been in the tourism sector for many years and we wanted to meet the demands of our passengers. The development of Van and its opening to the world is the mission of businesspeople from Van.”

“Interest in Van’s cultural and historical values has increased in the recent years. The number of tourists coming to Van is increasing,” Bayram told the Daily News.

Noting that they have experienced positive changes in Van in recent years, Bayram said, “New hotels are opening and the tourism in Van is growing.”

The historic Surp Haç Church on Akdamar Island in Van was restored and opened as a museum in 2007 by former Culture Minister Atilla Koç. The museum has a great impact on increasing the number of tourists. The church recently offered its first religious ceremony after being closed for 95 years.

In accordance with demands, international flights on private planes may begin, Bayram said, adding that it is early for such an enterprise