Armenia is hoping to become a transit route for Russian tourists travelling to neighboring Georgia after all passenger flights between Russia and Georgia are suspended next month.
President Vladimir Putin temporarily banned Russian airlines from flying to Georgia on Friday following an outbreak of unrest in Tbilisi triggered by the visit of a Russian lawmaker. The Kremlin also told travel agencies suspend tours to Georgia from Russia.
The Russian Transport Ministry imposed at the weekend a similar ban on Georgian airlines carrying out flights to Moscow and other Russian cities.
The punitive measures, effective from July 8, are bound to hit the Georgian tourism industry, a major sector of Georgia’s economy. More than one million Russian tourists visited the South Caucasus country last year.
Georgia’s leading airline, Georgian Airways, announced on Monday that it is planning to carry out Tbilisi-Moscow flights via Yerevan “without any additional charges” for passengers. It said the connection time at Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport will be less than one hour.
The flights between Yerevan and Moscow will presumably be carried out by Georgian Airways’ sister airline, Armenia Air Company. The Georgian carrier’s founder, Tamaz Gaiashvili, holds a major stake in the company.
Armenia - A passenger jet at Yerevan's Zvartnots international airport, 10Apr2017.
Georgian Airways currently flies to Yerevan on a daily basis. A senior official at Armenia’s Civil Aviation Department, Stepan Payaslian, said on Tuesday that the company could carry out two Tbilisi-Yerevan flights a day after the Russian ban comes into force next month.
The Armenian airline’s deputy director, Gevorg Khachatrian, said earlier that it is planning to double the number of its daily Yerevan-Moscow flights.
Hakob Chagharian, a civil aviation adviser to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, confirmed that Georgian Airways is planning to use Armenia as a transit route. “Its flights will be carried out through Gyumri or Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.
Chagharian said two other, smaller Armenian carriers have also expressed readiness to cash in on the Russia flight ban.
It is not yet clear whether Russia’s leading airlines flying to Georgia could team up with them for that purpose. Chagharian suggested that they may well reach a transit deal with Azerbaijan’s state-run national airline instead.
According to Payaslian, the Civil Aviation Department is also looking into other transit options for people travelling from Russia to Georgia. “The options include bringing passengers from Georgia to Armenia by bus and vice versa, and then having them flown from Yerevan or Gyumri,” he said.