Georgia: First Tbilisi-Moscow Flight since 2008 Set to Depart on January 8

A passenger plane is scheduled to fly from Tbilisi to Moscow on January 8 for the first time since Georgia and Russia went to war over breakaway South Ossetia in 2008.

A private carrier, Georgia Airways, announced January 4 that it will operate three Tbilisi-Moscow charter flights in the coming weeks. Georgian Airways spokesperson Nino Giorgobiani told a news conference that Russia transportation authorities on December 31 granted permission to the company to operate the flights.

Georgian Airways is selling tickets for 170 euros ($245 roughly). Airline representatives said that more charter flights to Moscow may be scheduled for January 16, 20 and 22. "I hope that the Russian and Georgian governments will soon hold negotiations on the resumption of regular flights," Giorgobiani said during the January 4 conference.