Flights between Ulaanbaatar and Irkutsk have been suspended for almost six months, and hundreds of passengers on both sides of the border are waiting for them to resume. The Mongolian airline Eznis is ready to start flights, but this requires resolving the difficult issue of route permission, which under the intergovernmental agreement can be assigned to only one airline. The article covers talks, carrier disputes, and why restoring air service matters not only for passengers but also for business ties between Mongolia and Irkutsk region.

Air service was interrupted almost six months ago and has not yet been restored. One of the airlines has stated its readiness to begin flights, but in order to take to the skies, the problems on the ground need to be resolved.
Flights from Ulaanbaatar to Irkutsk have been suspended. While the sides are trying to agree on the resumption of regular service, hundreds of Mongolian and Russian passengers are suffering. MIAT, the airline that operated flights to Irkutsk until the end of August, canceled the route because of losses. The large BOEING jet was not cost-effective on such a short route, and the service life of the AN-26 aircraft that had flown before it had expired. Aeromongolia was ready to fly to Irkutsk, but the documents the airline submitted to the Russian side have still not been approved. There is also a third potential carrier — the Mongolian airline Eznis.
Yury Kurdyukov, Commercial Director of the Irkutsk Airport Federal State Unitary Enterprise: “In October and November, negotiations were held with the Mongolian airline Eznis, which is based at Ulaanbaatar Airport. Negotiations have been conducted to date. For now, the company will fly on a charter basis. From the second half of January, they will fly”
But obtaining official permission for Eznis flights is not so simple. According to the intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Mongolia, only one airline may operate flights on this route. Today, such permission is held by MIAT and, as a backup option, by Aeromongolia. This dilemma can only be resolved with the participation of these carriers. But neither MIAT nor Aeromongolia is ready to give up the permit to fly to Irkutsk — both companies hope in the future to resume flights, but not right now. The Mongolian Civil Aviation Authority has volunteered to help Eznis planes still reach Irkutsk — there they wrote a letter to the country’s government asking to allow a third airline to participate in the flights.
D. Naranporev, head of the transport department of the Mongolian Civil Aviation Authority: “We can give Eznis permission to fly. But we cannot clearly assign this route to them when the airlines already assigned to this route state their intention to continue operating flights; the issue of assigning a third airline is fundamental”
As arguments, Eznis points to the close ties between Mongolia and the Irkutsk Region. Our region accounts for more than 50 percent of Mongolia’s trade turnover with Russia. The cancellation of air travel has had a sharply negative impact on business relations — major bilateral deals are being postponed, agreements are being canceled.
The cost of a ticket for the Ulaanbaatar — Irkutsk charter flight will most likely be significantly higher than that of MIAT before flights were suspended — then the average fare was two hundred dollars. Eznis hopes for a positive decision from the government — if the airline is granted access to regular flights, ticket prices will automatically decrease. Eznis plans to begin charter flights to Irkutsk by early February. It will be a 34-seat Saab aircraft. The travel time from Ulaanbaatar to Irkutsk will be one and a half hours.