MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

From March 31st, British Airways, the flagship airline of the United Kingdom, began operations on the Georgian aviation market - an A320 aircraft from the company conducted its first flight to Tbilisi International Airport with 156 passengers onboard. As a result, London and Tbilisi are connected via direct air route.

British Airways will operate direct regular flights on the London-Tbilisi-London route with a frequency of 4 times a week. Direct traffic significantly reduces travel time from Georgia to Britain and vice versa.

British Airways is a brand founded 50 years ago, however, the airline has an operational history of over 100 years. It is noteworthy that British Airways, along with American Airlines, is a co-founder of the global airline alliance - OneWorld, which is the third largest association in the world after SkyTeam and Star Alliance. British Airways flies to more than 190 destinations in 65 countries worldwide. The airline's main base is located at London Heathrow Airport, one of Europe’s busiest airports.

It is important that the close partnership with American Airlines will allow British Airways passengers to use transit flights via London - to various cities in the United States.

The commencement of direct flights between the capitals of Georgia and the United Kingdom was preceded by intensive negotiations with one of Europe's largest airlines, which United Airports of Georgia successfully concluded with the involvement of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

An official reception was held at the Tbilisi International Airport’s government terminal to mark the launching of British Airways’ operations in the Georgian market. The event was attended by the British Ambassador to Georgia, Gareth Ward, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Mariam Kvrivishvili, General Director of United Airports of Georgia, Levan Moseshvili, British Airways management, TAV Georgia’s General Manager, and other leaders of the aviation industry.