“Georgia still wants to start direct flights to the United States. Negotiations between the two countries were underway before the coronavirus pandemic, but the process could not be completed due to the global pandemic,” stated the newly appointed Deputy Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili.
Three airlines were interested in starting direct flights in Georgia, which were about to arrive in the country and evaluate its infrastructure, she said.
“Of course, our greatest wish is for transatlantic flights to kick off very soon. Prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, our delegation visited the United States under the leadership of the Minister of Economy. We had quite interesting and fruitful negotiations with three airlines, and, as a result, we came up with a specific business plan and saw that there was quite a lot of interest.
“The next step was for the airline representatives to come to Georgia and check our infrastructure, both at the airport and in terms of tourism.
“I have high hopes that we will be able to resume the negotiation process very soon. It will not be easy as 95% of airlines are actually in the process of reexamination, thinking about where and in what directions to resume operations. Nevertheless, we will be proactive and use all the tools we have to bring results we can be proud of very soon, so that Georgia can have direct flights to the United States,” Kvrivishvili said.
Mariam Kvrivishvili, member of Parliament of Georgia, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on European Integration and former Head of the National Tourism Administration, (GNTA) was appointed Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia on May 24.
By Ana Dumbadze
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