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response to anti-Russia protests in Georgia sparked by a Russian MP visiting the Georgian parliament being given permission to address lawmakers from the speaker’s chair. But observers have said the demonstrations were largely aimed at the Georgian government.
On June 24, Georgian Airways received a letter from the Russian Civil Aviation Agency in which the Russian side stated that it was in debt for navigation services and that its aviation security "did not meet standards."
As a result of the flight ban, the airline fell into dire financial straits as it suddenly had to return all Russia tickets sold before the summer season. The airline was flying to five destinations in Russia in this period, namely Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Ryazan and Ufa.
Speaking to Business Media, CEO Bokeria said the carrier sold 40,000 tickets before the summer season. They cost millions of dollars to refund.
Bokeria added that the airline did not receive any support from the government. “I can tell you that as of today, we have not received any help from the government. This is despite the fact that we have repeatedly appealed to the government, the head of government, in this regard. As of today, the company has not received any assistance," he said.
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosavia) has permitted the Russian S7 Airlines to fly from Moscow to Kutaisi, Georgia, ​according to Georgian news service InterPressNews.​ All Russian airlines were banned from flying to Georgia for “security reasons” as of July, after diplomatic relations between Moscow and Tbilisi worsened.
The decision was posted on October 15 on the website of Rosavia.
According to a decree, the airline now has permission to operate Moscow-Kutaisi flights with a frequency of sever times per week. S7 has not yet scheduled the flights.
S7 Airlines (legally JSC Siberia Airlines) is a Russian carrier that ranks second in the country in terms of the number of passengers carried. Its headquarters is located in the small town of Ob (Novosibirsk Region), near Tolmachevo Novosibirsk International Airport. It has bases at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow and and Tolmachevo Airport in Ob.
At the end of June 2019, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree banning airlines transporting Russian citizens to Georgia from July 8, following anti-Kremlin protests by Georgians and insults thrown Putin’s way by a TV presenter.
9.2.4 ​Infrastructure and construction corporate news
Meridian Capital NL BV has abandoned plans to replace US company Conti International as a strategic partner in Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) behind the planned $2.5bn, deep-water port in Anaklia on the Black Sea coast. ​The investment is a key project for Georgia’s development that has nonetheless become repeatedly bogged down by difficulties since it was first agreed under a public private partnership in 2016. The decision from Meridian comes with the Georgian parliament on October 30 set to discuss the future of the project. ADC was recently given a new deadline to settle all issues related to equity and financing. It was set as the end of the year, but Meridian’s decision further complicates a situation that was already difficult. Unless the issues are settled, the government could terminate the agreement signed in 2016.
Besides the Dutch company Royal van Oord, which has already purchased a 4% stake in ADC, Meridian was proposed by the consortium as a substitute for
58​ GEORGIA Country Report​ November 2019 ​ ​www.intellinews.com