Russian Red Wings permitted, but delays flights to Georgia

The Russian Red Wings airline, which has been permitted by the Georgian civil aviation agency to conduct flights to Georgia, delays flights to Tbilisi, without clarifying reasons. 

TAV Georgia, the managing company of Tbilisi Airport, said earlier this week only Azimuth, another Russian airline, was conducting direct flights, following the Kremlin’s move on May 10 to lift travel and visa restrictions with Georgia on the backdrop of its ongoing aggression against Ukraine. 

Several Georgian media outlets claim Azimuth has to fly “almost empty” from Tbilisi. 

It has been announced earlier the Red Wings would operate multiple charter flights in the direction of Sochi-Tbilisi-Sochi from June 2, three times a week – Monday, Wednesday, Friday-  and on the Moscow-Kutaisi-Moscow route also three times a week from June 2, on the same days. 

Tbilisi’s move to accept the flights considering “humanitarian reasons” has caused international concerns, with the EU and the US warning the country of potential sanctions and pointing to the joint decision of all member states to the bloc to ban flights to and from Russia in protest of its invasion of Ukraine.