According to Hurriyet Daily News, the Yerevan-Van flights scheduled to begin on April 3 will take a mere 45 minutes as they will not take the circuitous route over Georgian air space.

The flights, operated by the private Borajet company, will thus be the first of its kind to directly pass across the now closed Armenia-Turkey border.

According to Hurriyet, this step has been criticized by Azerbaijani Parliament Speaker Ziyafat Asgarov who is quoted as saying that “the issue must be examined more closely.”

Ayhan Fidan, who heads the Van Trade Association, told the paper that they are expecting demand for the Yerevan-Van flights to be great, saying that the main reason for the new route is trade.