The ban on direct flights to Russia led to losses of about $25 million sustain by Georgian Airways, the air carrier said.
"Suspension of the direct air service between Georgia and Russia dealt a material blow to Georgian Airways and put it into a challenging financial position. The airline had to return about 80% of tickets already sold. Furthermore, the number of individuals desirous of buying tickets declined dramatically, and the airline sustained damages of about $25 mln in total because of that," TASS cited the airline as saying.
The air carrier's management also responded to a recent decision of the Georgian government on incentivization of transit air traffic from Russia to Georgia via Yerevan and allocation of 600,000 euro.
"The management of Georgian Airways requested the Georgian government to provide financial aid to the company in the challenging situation. The government of Georgia took the airline’s request into consideration and made the decision to partly compensate damages to Georgian Airways, thereby supporting the Georgian company," the statement reads.
