Italy’s Alitalia Withdraws From Georgian Market

TBILISI – Italian national airline Alitalia will leave the Georgian market from April, the company’s representative Giorgi Liparteliani said Tuesday.

“We have decided to cease our operations in Georgia due to the fact it is no longer commercially viable,” Liparteliani stated.

He emphasized, however, that the cessation of flights was not due to a lack of passengers, which in recent years had experienced an upward trend.

Alitalia previously carried out regularly scheduled flights from Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport to Tbilisi.

Alitalia has experienced severe financial difficulties since 2014 and was forced to sell 49% of the company’s shares to United Arab Emirates’ flag-carrier Etihad Airways.

By Ana Akhalaia

Edited by Nicholas Waller