Red Wings will launch flights to Tbilisi and Kutaisi from St. Petersburg

The Russian airline Red Wings will launch flights from St. Petersburg to Georgian Tbilisi and Kutaisi in November–December, reported press service of Pulkovo airport.

“For the first time, a direct flight to Kutaisi is opening from St. Petersburg. The first flight from 2019 will be from Pulkovo Airport to Tbilisi. The flights will be operated by Red Wings Airlines,” the statement says.

Flights to Tbilisi will resume on November 18 and will operate once a week on Saturdays. On Saturdays, starting from December 2, flights to Kutaisi will be operated.

In Russia, since June 2019, there has been a ban on flights of domestic airlines and the sale of tours to Georgia by tour operators. The reason for introducing such a measure was the protests near the building of the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi against the backdrop of the fact that State Duma deputy Sergei Gavrilov took the chair of the speaker of parliament during the International Assembly of Orthodoxy. Gavrilov claimed that he was invited to take this place.

On May 10, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree lifting the ban on Russian airlines flying to Georgia. He later stated that this was his personal initiative. In this way, the president wanted to support people who are striving to improve relations with Georgia, as well as citizens who love Georgia.

The Georgian government supported the decision of the Russian authorities, and President Salome Zurabishvili considered it a provocation. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that everything that makes “life, movement and business activities easier for our citizens is positive and welcome.” The first Russian company to make a direct flight between Moscow and Tbilisi was Azimut.