Ukraine has announced sanctions against Georgian Airways, Georgia’s flagship airline, and its chairman Tamaz Gaiashvili. The move followed the airline’s resumption of flights between the country’s capital of Tbilisi and Russia.
Georgian Airways resumed flights to Russia in May, flying from Tbilisi to Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) to supply a more direct connection for people traveling to and from Europe and Russia. The move was met with consternation each domestically and in Europe.
Why did the flights resume?
The flag carrier of the previous Soviet country of Georgia announced it could resume flights to Moscow and position itself as a connection hub between Russia and Europe following an announcement in May that Georgian residents could now travel to Russia visa-free for as much as 90 days. Previously, passengers wishing to travel between the 2 countries had to attach at non-EU destinations, including Istanbul (IST), Belgrade (BEG), or Dubai (DXB).
Russian authorities lifted a 2019 ban prohibiting Russian airlines from flying to Georgia on May tenth, the identical time they canceled visa requirements for Georgian residents. The Russian aviation authority issued a flurry of route authorizations between the 2 countries. Nevertheless, Russian airline Azimuth has to date been the one carrier to resume flights to Georgia.
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Several other carriers were included within the list of allowed airlines, with only leisure airline Red Wings reportedly applying to operate three direct services from Moscow (DME), Kazan (KZN), and Samara (KUF) to Tbilisi (TBS).
What was the response?
The move to resume flight was met with protests within the Georgian capital. In response, Georgian authorities promised that flights would only be permitted by Russian airlines that should not on the list of international sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
Georgia has supported Ukraine diplomatically and politically because the outbreak of the conflict but has refused to hitch international sanctions against Russia. Within the months following the outbreak of war, Georgia joined greater than 260 resolutions and statements condemning Russia’s actions, provided Ukraine with humanitarian aid, and took in 1000’s of war refugees.
Following the announcement of flights resuming, the country’s President, Salome Zourabichvili, called for a boycott of Georgian Airways and reaffirmed the nation’s ongoing commitment to peace within the region:
“This can be a completely unacceptable and inappropriate time. We don’t need gifts from Russia, masked as some form of a concession. In today’s situation, we’re on the identical side as all our European friends!”
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In response, Georgian Airways chairman Tamaz Gaiashvili said it had banned Zurabishvili from using its services due to her calls for a boycott.
Roughly a million ethnic Georgians currently reside in Russia, and Georgia swiftly became a destination for Russians fleeing last 12 months’s partial mobilization. The 2 countries haven’t had formal diplomatic relations because the 2008 armed conflict during which Russian forces invaded Georgia in support of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Source: ch-aviation