The Civil Aviation Agency of Georgia has announced that Russian airlines have applied to the Georgian regulator for permission to start flights to the republic.

"We inform that as of today, the Civil Aviation Agency has received applications from several Russian airlines requesting to start regular air communication between Georgia and Russia", - the regulator reported and added that the decision on each application will be made after a detailed study of the airline's operations and its fleet, as well as the carrier's status in relation to international sanctions.

The Civil Aviation Agency of Georgia did not specify which Russian companies in particular have applied to the country's authorities, but rumors have circulated that Red Wings and Azimuth are ready to launch flights to the neighboring country.

Recall that on May 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed two decrees. The first - abolishing the visa regime for Georgian citizens from May 15, and the second lifted the ban on Russian airlines flying to Georgia from the same date.

Updated: The first permission has been granted - it was given to the Azimuth airline. "The study of one airline's application has already been completed. It's Azimuth Airlines, which can start flying from May 17. The aforementioned permission was granted today by the Civil Aviation Agency of Georgia. The first flight will be operated on May 17. These will be charter flights", – said the head of Georgia's Civil Aviation Agency Givi Davitashvili. The first flights will be operated to Tbilisi.

Update 2: Ticket sales have already started on the Azimuth website. "Local time is indicated for each airport. Flights from Moscow to Tbilisi are available from 220 euros, from Tbilisi to Moscow — from 200 euros, charges are extra", — the airline's press service explained.