The Armenian government has proposed removing the old round terminal of Zvartnots Airport from the state list of immovable historical and cultural monuments of Yerevan. According to Hetq, the corresponding draft was prepared by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure.

The ministry states that the protected status of the building complicates the reconstruction and modernization of the airport complex. However, the terminal only received monument status in August 2025 after years of demands from architects and public organizations.

Officially, the authorities are not talking about demolition, but about integrating the old terminal into the updated airport infrastructure. In their opinion, the building no longer meets modern safety requirements and is not used for its original purpose. However, after being stripped of its monument status, it will effectively lose legal protection, and the concessionaire will be able to revert to plans for its dismantling.

The initiative is linked to the new master plan for the development of Zvartnots Airport. In January, the government extended the concession agreement with "International Airports of Armenia," part of Corporación América, owned by Argentine entrepreneur Eduardo Eurnekian, until the end of 2067. The document provides for investments of about $425 million by 2033, although the operator previously spoke of a program worth about $500 million.

The airport's expansion is explained by the rapid growth in passenger traffic. While the current terminal is designed for 3–4 million passengers per year, in 2025 the airport served a record 5.62 million people. In addition, over 42.6 thousand tons of cargo and mail passed through it.

The modernization project includes increasing the number of boarding gates from 6 to 16, expanding arrival and departure areas, passport and customs control, building new business lounges, increasing parking spaces, improving transport accessibility, and implementing automatic passport gates and biometric control systems.

The question of demolishing the old terminal is not new. Already in the 2013–2017 master plan, it was proposed to dismantle about 90 thousand square meters of old structures, including the famous round terminal, control tower, and VIP building, to make way for a new passenger complex. At that time, the plans were not implemented, but in 2016, the emergency overpass leading to the building was demolished.

The Artur Tarkhanyan Center opposed the exclusion of the terminal from the list of monuments. The organization calls the building one of the best examples of Armenian modernist architecture and notes that only seven such airport complexes, under state protection, have been preserved worldwide. According to architects, the terminal can be reconstructed and reused, which will significantly increase the airport's capacity without its demolition and preserve an important object of Armenia's architectural heritage.