By Giorgi Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
Staff of Airzena, once the leading Georgian airline, have organized a protest at Tbilisi International Airport. They cancelled flights to Moscow and demanded the authorities to stop Russian companies from making flights and to stop all aviation talks with Russia until the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency is separated from the Georgian Ministry for Economic Development and staffed with skilled workers ready to protect Georgian airlines.
The protesters demanded a replacement for Guram Jalagonia, the head of the Civil Aviation Agency, and a disavowal of all Open Sky agreements made during President Saakashvili’s rule. The staff also demanded the return of leadership status to the company, so that the airlines would have an advantage over foreign companies.
Pilots and flight attendants threaten to paralyze the airport unless their demands are fulfilled, as stated by the Airzena Director General, Iese Zautashvili. He admitted in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza that Airzena cannot compete with Aeroflot, especially when the competitor entered the market by dumping prices, 57 euros for a Tbilisi-Moscow flight, compared with a minimum price of 140-150 euros offered by Airzena. The director general noted that the company had lost 60-70% of its passengers since September. The company will be closed down if the tendency continues. Zautashvili clarified that Airzena insisted on an equal number of flights to Moscow, reaching an agreement to make 14 flights a week. Thus, Aeroflot, S7 and Transaero can together make 14 flights and Airzena can make 14.
Clearly, such a small Georgian company could not keep up with the Russian companies and insists on reducing the frequency of flights to 10 a week. The preferences of Georgian passengers exacerbated the problem. Both Russian and Georgian passengers prefer Aeroflot, despite a certain balance of flight frequency and prices reached, a source at the tourism department of the Georgian Ministry for Economic Development told Vestnik Kavkaza. Airzena was more comfortable with 5 flights a week, a higher frequency was a blow to it.
The authorities of the Georgian Trade Union Association are fine with the strike. “We have not organized the strike, because Airzena is not a part of our trade union structure,” said Irakli Petriashvili, the head of the Association, in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza. He emphasized that the demands of the strikers were normal in world practice.
A warning came from Moscow: if Tbilisi does not comply with preliminary agreements and cuts flights of Russian companies, Russia will take counter actions and may even stop flights between the two states. Restoration of regular flights is considered one of the biggest achievements in normalization of Russian-Georgian relations.
The higher frequency of flights made ticket prices lower and the flow of Russian tourists higher. This means new workplaces, profit for hotels and so on. So the Georgian government needs to either comply with the demands of hundreds of workers of the only airline, otherwise it may be sold off, or maintain the process of normalizing Russian-Georgian ties and discourage Russian tourists. The Georgian Minister for Economic Development, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, admitted that his ministry had held intensive talks with Russia, hoping to find the golden mean by balancing interests.
The Georgian government put an end to the conflict last weekend. Russia and Georgia will both make 14 flights a week.
Airzena staff hold protests at Tbilisi International Airport, flights to Moscow were cancelledBy Giorgi Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik KavkazaStaff of Airzena, once the leading Georgian airline, have organized a protest at Tbilisi International Airport. They cancelled flights to Moscow and demanded the authorities to stop Russian companies from making flights and to stop all aviation talks with Russia until the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency is separated from the Georgian Ministry for Economic Development and staffed with skilled workers ready to protect Georgian airlines.The protesters demanded a replacement for Guram Jalagonia, the head of the Civil Aviation Agency, and a disavowal of all Open Sky agreements made during President Saakashvili’s rule. The staff also demanded the return of leadership status to the company, so that the airlines would have an advantage over foreign companies.Pilots and flight attendants threaten to paralyze the airport unless their demands are fulfilled, as stated by the Airzena Director General, Iese Zautashvili. He admitted in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza that Airzena cannot compete with Aeroflot, especially when the competitor entered the market by dumping prices, 57 euros for a Tbilisi-Moscow flight, compared with a minimum price of 140-150 euros offered by Airzena. The director general noted that the company had lost 60-70% of its passengers since September. The company will be closed down if the tendency continues. Zautashvili clarified that Airzena insisted on an equal number of flights to Moscow, reaching an agreement to make 14 flights a week. Thus, Aeroflot, S7 and Transaero can together make 14 flights and Airzena can make 14.Clearly, such a small Georgian company could not keep up with the Russian companies and insists on reducing the frequency of flights to 10 a week. The preferences of Georgian passengers exacerbated the problem. Both Russian and Georgian passengers prefer Aeroflot, despite a certain balance of flight frequency and prices reached, a source at the tourism department of the Georgian Ministry for Economic Development told Vestnik Kavkaza. Airzena was more comfortable with 5 flights a week, a higher frequency was a blow to it.The authorities of the Georgian Trade Union Association are fine with the strike. “We have not organized the strike, because Airzena is not a part of our trade union structure,” said Irakli Petriashvili, the head of the Association, in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza. He emphasized that the demands of the strikers were normal in world practice.A warning came from Moscow: if Tbilisi does not comply with preliminary agreements and cuts flights of Russian companies, Russia will take counter actions and may even stop flights between the two states. Restoration of regular flights is considered one of the biggest achievements in normalization of Russian-Georgian relations.The higher frequency of flights made ticket prices lower and the flow of Russian tourists higher. This means new workplaces, profit for hotels and so on. So the Georgian government needs to either comply with the demands of hundreds of workers of the only airline, otherwise it may be sold off, or maintain the process of normalizing Russian-Georgian ties and discourage Russian tourists. The Georgian Minister for Economic Development, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, admitted that his ministry had held intensive talks with Russia, hoping to find the golden mean by balancing interests.The Georgian government put an end to the conflict last weekend. Russia and Georgia will both make 14 flights a we
