In January-September 2016, 351,000 passengers used air services provided on Tbilisi – Moscow – Tbilisi flights, which are operated by Georgian Airways, as well as Aeroflot and S7 Airlines, Russia.  This is by almost twice more, as compared to the same period last year, the Georgian Airports Association reported on Saturday, October 29, 2016.

According to this Association, this amounted 16.1% of total passenger air traffic in airports in Georgia, which has increased by 23.3% for the first nine months of 2016, as compared to the same period in 2015. This increase came up to two million and 181.7 thousand people.

According to the number of passengers carried, the Tbilisi – Moscow airline was ranked to be the second one after the Tbilisi – Istanbul one, which benefited 478,000 people. Followed by flights from Georgia to Kiev (243,000 passengers), Tel Aviv (148,000), Dubai (113,000), Baku (96,000), Tehran (80,000), Prague (77,000), Warsaw (70,000) and Minsk (67,000).

In Georgia, there are four existing airports, three of which are international ones, namely, ones in Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi, as well as there is one small airport in Mestia, Svaneti, a high-mountainous region in Georgia with its own operating airport.

In January-September 2016, 33 air companies operated at the Georgian civil aviation market providing air services to 66 destinations. The share of Georgian air carriers accounted for 11% of the total market, whereas foreign air companies had 89%.

Russia and Georgia have announced the resumption of regular flights between the two countries on September 15, 2014. As a result of technical consultations between air authorities of the two countries, the Georgian airlines received the right to carry out regular flights to such Russian cities, as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Sochi, Rostov-on-Don and the Caucasus Mineral Waters, and the Russian ones – to Tbilisi, Batumiand Kutaisi, Georgia.

According to the agreement, the frequency of flights en route Tbilisi – Moscow was determined as 18 flights a week from each side during winter air navigation seasons, and 21 flights per week during spring/summer air navigation seasons.

As for the frequency of flights between other cities, in this case, the number of flights is not limited, as it was prior to the termination of the regular air links between Georgia and Russia.

As regards the Georgian side, direct regular flights to the Russian Federation are operated by Georgian Airways, and Russia is represented by Aeroflot, S7 Airlines and Ural Airlines regularly flying to Georgia. As of November 1, 2016, a low-cost air carrier from Russia, Pobeda (Victory) Airlines, a part of the Aeroflot Group, will be added as well, as this air company intends to carry out flights en route Rostov-on-Don, Russia – Tbilisi.

Regular flights between Russia and Georgia were suspended in August 2008. The flights were resumed in August 2010, but before September 2014, one was operating only direct charter flights between the two countries.