The first plane since 2019 took off from Sochi to Tbilisi

Air traffic between Sochi and Tbilisi, interrupted in 2019, has resumed. The Red Wings plane took off on July 11 from Sochi to the Georgian capital. About it informs press service of the airline, reports TASS.

“The flight just took off,” Red Wings said.

According to Sochi Airport’s online scoreboard, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 took off at 15:33 with an hour and a half delay. The flight was scheduled for 14:00. The liner will arrive in Tbilisi at 17:40 (16:40 Moscow time), follows from the data of Tbilisi airport.

Since June 2019, there has been a ban on the flights of Russian airlines and the implementation of tours to Georgia by Russian tour operators. The reason for the introduction of such a measure was the protests near the building of the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi against the background 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.

May 10, 2023 Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree lifting the ban on flights of Russian airlines to Georgia. Later he declaredthat it was his personal initiative. In this way, the president wanted to support people who seek to establish relations with Georgia, as well as citizens who love Georgia.

After that, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili called the decision of the Russian authorities a provocation and unacceptable against the backdrop of the continuation of the military operation in Ukraine. The Georgian government supported the decision of the Russian authorities. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that anything that makes “life, movement and business easier for our citizens is positive and welcome.”

The first Russian company to make a direct flight between Moscow and Tbilisi was Azimuth. From the Georgian side, the same route, only from the capital of Georgia, committed Georgian Airways.