Russian airline Red Wings has expanded its summer flight program to Georgia and is now operating services from 15 Russian cities, reads a statement by the Russian Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy in Georgia.
The airline has added six new direct routes to Batumi this month, further strengthening air connectivity between Russia and Georgia’s Black Sea resort city. Batumi is now directly connected with Volgograd, Orenburg, Perm, Saratov, Tyumen, and Chelyabinsk.
“Batumi continues to strengthen its position as one of the most popular summer holiday destinations among Russian travelers. The clearest evidence of this is the expanded summer flight program of Red Wings. This month alone, six new routes from various cities across the Russian Federation have been launched to Georgia’s main seaside resort,” the statement reads.
In total, during the 2026 summer season, Red Wings is operating flights to Georgia from 15 cities across Russia.
The expansion comes alongside growing tourist traffic between the two countries and increasing demand for direct air connections to Georgia’s Black Sea coast during the summer months.
Direct flights between Georgia and Russia resumed in May 2023 after Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted a ban on direct air travel to Georgia that had been in place since 2019. Since then, several Russian airlines have launched or expanded routes to Georgia, while the number of direct flights and destinations has steadily increased.
The restoration of air links sparked political debate in Georgia, with critics arguing that the move undermines international efforts to isolate Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, while supporters point to the economic benefits of increased tourism and connectivity.
