Russian Airlines Demand Compensation after Travel Embargo on Georgia

Russian airline Pobeda has requested that the Ministry of Transport of Russia define the deadlines on when they will be reimbursed for the financial damages the company has suffered due to the Russian-initiated travel embargo on direct flights to Georgia, media outlet Ekho Kavkaza reports.

On July 8, Russia initiated a travel embargo on Georgia, suspending all direct flights to the country. This move came after Russian MP Sergey Gavrilov's visit to Tbilisi, seeing him addressing the Assembly on Orthodoxy from the House Speaker’s chair. This action sparked protests all over Tbilisi, while Russia currently occupies Georgian territory.        

The agency mentions that disrupting flights to Tbilisi and Batumi has cost Pobeda airlines up to $8 million in losses.  

S7 estimate they have a loss of around $9 million, while Red Wings airline specified that its loss amounted to $3 million, Kommersant reported.

Before the embargo, Aeroflot, Pobeda, S7, Ural Airlines, Red Wings and Smartavia all carried out flights to Georgia.

By Beka Alexishvili