Armenia’s Famous Round Zvartnots Airport Terminal Could Be Demolished Under Government Plan

The Armenian government has taken the first official step toward removing legal protections from the iconic old terminal at Yerevan's Zvartnots International Airport, a move that could ultimately lead to the demolition of one of the country's most recognizable architectural landmarks.

A draft government decision published on Armenia's legal portal, e-draft.am, proposes removing the circular terminal—known for decades simply as the "round building"—from the state register of immovable historical and cultural monuments. If approved, the building would lose the protected status it received only last year.

The proposal comes as the government and the airport's concessionaire move forward with an ambitious long-term expansion plan intended to transform Armenia's main international gateway.

The draft was prepared by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure following the government's approval in January of the fifth amendment to the concession agreement with Armenia International Airports CJSC, the company that operates Zvartnots International Airport. The company, owned by Argentine-Armenian businessman Eduardo Eurnekian's Corporación América, has managed the airport since 2002. Under the latest agreement, the concession was extended through Dec. 31, 2067.

As part of the amended agreement, the concessionaire submitted a new airport master plan that includes approximately $425 million in capital investments through 2033. The project is designed to modernize airport infrastructure and expand capacity as passenger traffic continues to grow.

According to the ministry, the old terminal no longer satisfies modern aviation safety, technical and operational standards and is no longer suitable for its original function. Officials argue that keeping the building on the national heritage list prevents the reconstruction and modernization envisioned under the airport's development program.

The government says the building is expected to undergo functional conversion as part of the modernization project, although the draft does not specify whether the existing structure would be preserved or demolished.

The airport operator has argued for years that Zvartnots has outgrown its current facilities.

In a 2025 interview with Forbes, Armenia International Airports Director Marcelo Wende said annual passenger traffic had climbed to 5.5 million travelers, exceeding the operating terminal's intended capacity of 3 million to 4 million passengers.

Wende outlined plans to nearly double the airport's size over the next decade through an investment program valued at roughly $500 million. The expansion would increase the number of boarding gates from six to 16, enlarge arrival halls, customs and immigration facilities, add modern lounges, expand parking and introduce biometric passport technology and automated passport control systems.

The airport later set a new record, serving 5,615,789 passengers in 2025. Cargo volumes also reached an all-time high, with more than 42,600 metric tons of cargo and mail handled during the year.

Plans to remove the old terminal are not new.

The airport's 2013-2017 master plan envisioned demolishing the round terminal, its distinctive control tower and the former VIP terminal to make room for expanded passenger facilities and, eventually, a new terminal complex. Those proposals were never implemented.

One element of the original complex did disappear in 2016 when the elevated access road leading to the terminal was dismantled after being declared structurally unsafe. The main building, however, remained intact.

The current proposal has reignited a debate that has lasted for years.

Architects, historians and preservation advocates successfully campaigned to protect the terminal after the 2018 political transition in Armenia. An expert commission unanimously supported granting the building monument status, but the government did not formally add it to the state register until Aug. 14, 2025.

Less than a year later, officials are now seeking to reverse that decision.

Among the strongest critics is the Arthur Tarkhanyan Center, led by architect Anahit Tarkhanyan, daughter of the terminal's principal architect, Arthur Tarkhanyan.

The center describes the old Zvartnots terminal as one of Armenia's finest architectural achievements and one of the world's outstanding examples of Soviet modernist architecture.

According to the organization, only seven airports of comparable architectural significance remain worldwide, and all continue to be protected by their respective governments even if they no longer serve their original purpose.

The center argues that the terminal can be restored and upgraded to meet modern international aviation standards rather than demolished. Its proposal calls for rehabilitating the structure, significantly increasing passenger capacity and adding up to 10 additional gates while preserving the landmark.

The organization has urged the Armenian government to reconsider the airport's development strategy and retain legal protection for the building.

A Landmark Born From Innovation

Although Zvartnots Airport opened in 1961, its famous circular terminal was completed nearly two decades later.

According to the late aviation official Dmitri Atbashyan, who led Armenia's Civil Aviation Administration from 1971 to 1987, the project began after Soviet Armenian leaders rejected several conventional terminal designs in favor of a more innovative concept.

A team led by architects Arthur Tarkhanyan, Spartak Khachikyan, Levon Cherkezyan and Zhorzh Shekhlyan, together with structural engineer Sergei Baghdasaryan, developed the final design after studying leading European airports, including Cologne Bonn, Frankfurt and Paris Charles de Gaulle.

The architects abandoned traditional rectangular layouts and instead created a circular terminal centered around a 61-meter control tower. The design minimized walking distances for passengers while allowing aircraft of different sizes to be accommodated without major reconstruction.

The first phase of the terminal opened in November 1980, and the complex officially entered full operation in February 1982.

Its innovative design earned the Armenian SSR State Prize in 1985 and established Zvartnots as one of the defining works of Soviet modernist architecture.

The terminal also reached international audiences when it appeared as a futuristic spaceport in the 1986 Polish fantasy film The Travels of Mr. Blot.

Today, more than four decades after it opened, the round building stands at the center of a growing debate over how Armenia should balance modernization with the preservation of its architectural heritage. The government's decision on whether to remove its protected status could determine whether one of the country's most iconic landmarks survives for future generations.

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