Kazakh FC Aktobe lands on Kutaisi airport with SCAT aircraft after Tbilisi bans original flight with Russian airline

Kazakh Aktobe football club had to land on Kutaisi International Airport in western Georgia early on Thursday, on a match day with Torpedo Kutaisi, as Georgia’s Civil Aviation Agency banned its original flight with Russian UVT Aero airline. 

The Georgian agency on Wednesday said the Russian airline had been sanctioned by the European Union for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, and added it had issued renewed permission to Kazakh SCAT Airlines in the “shortest terms possible” to ensure the scheduled match. 

The first match of the second qualifying stage of the UEFA Conference League between Kutaisi Torpedo and Aktobe will be held at 9 p.m. at Shengelia Arena in Kutaisi.

Torpedo defeated Sarajevo of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a penalty shootout in the first qualification stage, after first drawing home (2:2) and then away matches (1:1).