Armenia has begun talks with Turkish Airlines (THY) on the possibility of starting direct flights between Yerevan and Los Angeles, the Armenian weekly newspaper Agos reported on Tuesday, citing the head of the Armenian Tourism Committee.
Lusine Gevorgyan, chair of the committee, said discussions were underway with THY regarding a potential nonstop route linking the Armenian capital with Los Angeles, home to one of the largest Armenian diaspora communities in the United States.
“I am constantly asked whether there will be a direct flight from Yerevan to Los Angeles,” Gevorgyan said.
“THY operates this kind of long-haul route and has the capacity to do so. I can’t say what their response will be, but as the world’s third-largest airline, they could create a direct connection between Yerevan and Los Angeles.”
She described the route as one of the new destinations recently put on the agenda, adding that it was too early to provide a timeline but that the matter was being treated as a priority.
THY expanding Yerevan operations
THY is set to begin direct flights to Yerevan in March in line with an announcement it made in October. Starting March 11, the carrier will operate daily flights between İstanbul and Yerevan.
The frequency will increase to 10 flights per week as of May 14 and to 14 weekly flights from June 15.
The airline has also launched Armenian-language promotional campaigns on social media targeting potential passengers in Armenia ahead of the route’s expansion.
THY’s planned entry into the Yerevan market follows earlier services by Pegasus Airlines, which currently operates daily flights between İstanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport and the Armenian capital.
The discussions come as Turkey and Armenia continue their cautious dialogue aimed at normalizing relations after decades of hostility.
In September representatives of both countries held their sixth round of talks in Yerevan, the first such meeting on Armenian soil.
Following that meeting Armenia’s Foreign Ministry said both sides agreed to make preparations that would allow multiple airlines to operate flights between the two countries starting in the summer of 2026, with the aim of increasing routes and frequency.
Los Angeles is viewed as a key transit and destination market due to its large Armenian-American population, making a direct route potentially significant both commercially and politically.
Armenia and Turkey have no diplomatic relations, a closed land border and a long history of hostility rooted in the mass killing of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire during World War I.
As a result flights between the two countries have been limited in recent decades due to the longstanding political tensions.