In 2019, the Russian Federation unilaterally halted and now unilaterally resumed flights. At the end of last week, we got requests from several airlines, including Georgian, and we had rather intense work with specialists to analyze what type of procedures are employed in terms of flights to and from Russia,” stated Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili.

Georgia, according to Davitashvili, takes the most stringent approach of nations having direct flights to Russia.

“We are focusing on the most stringent methodology employed by nations having flights towards Russia. This is a decision based on various factors, implying that neither sanctioned aircraft nor airlines would be able to access this country’s market.

The European Union has a sanctioned Blacklist. Flight safety is crucial to us, and we must draw conclusions following ICAO standards. As a result, planes without access to tech expertise, certified maintenance, and servicing cannot operate in Georgian airspace.

We will authorize flights to be operated by any operator or airline that meets these conditions. Today, Tbilisi, Batumi, and Kutaisi are in high demand. In society, there are no unequivocal viewpoints. There are numerous perspectives. Several groups’ concerns are legitimate, yet direct flights may help a huge part of the population. This has social importance since ethnic Georgians and Georgian citizens residing in Russia could not benefit from direct travel. This will improve their socioeconomic position,” the minister stated.