Russian carrier Red Wings Airlines plans to expand its flight programme to Georgia. The airline has applied to Russian aviation authorities for route permits to operate new flights to Tbilisi and Batumi.
According to documents released by Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya), Red Wings intends to launch flights to Tbilisi from six additional Russian cities:
- Omsk;
- Volgograd;
- Izhevsk;
- Krasnoyarsk;
- Saratov;
- Surgut.
The airline’s application for flights to Batumi covers 17 cities:
- Astrakhan;
- Cherepovets;
- Cheboksary;
- Ulyanovsk;
- Syktyvkar;
- Surgut;
- Stavropol;
- Orenburg;
- Omsk;
- Nizhnekamsk;
- Kaliningrad;
- Irkutsk;
- Izhevsk;
- Barnaul;
- Krasnoyarsk;
- Volgograd;
- Saratov.
This does not mean that flights along all the specified routes will necessarily commence. Rosaviatsiya grants an air carrier the right to operate an international route, but obtaining a permit does not obligate the airline to launch flights. The actual opening of routes depends on commercial viability, schedule planning, and obtaining the necessary authorizations from Georgian authorities.
Currently, Red Wings already operates scheduled and seasonal flights between cities in Russia and Georgia. Under the operational schedule for September 2026, Tbilisi has direct air links with a range of Russian cities, including Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Samara, Tyumen, and Ufa.
Direct flights from Batumi are operated to Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Orenburg, Perm, Samara, Saratov, Tyumen, Volgograd, and Chelyabinsk, among others. Some of these routes are seasonal, meaning the timetable changes throughout the year.
The documents published on Rosaviatsiya’s website also reference temporary permits requested by another Russian carrier, Azimuth Airlines. The airline intends to operate flights to Tbilisi from Perm, Samara, and Chelyabinsk with a frequency of five times a week on each route.
According to data from the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency, Russian air carriers accounted for 10% of the Georgian aviation market in 2025. Over the course of the year, Red Wings transported 506,001 passengers, while Azimuth Airlines carried 338,554.
Direct air connectivity between Russia and Georgia resumed in May 2023 following a four-year hiatus, when Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted a flight ban to Georgia that had been in effect since 2019.
Currently, direct flights connecting the cities of the two countries are operated by Georgian Airways, Red Wings, and Azimuth Airlines.
When air services with Russia were restored, Georgian authorities stated that airlines and aircraft subject to international sanctions would not be permitted to operate flights into the country.
