Aviation History
Georgian civil aviation was part of the Soviet Aeroflot system until independence in 1991, after which the sector fragmented into numerous small carriers; Airzena, founded in 1993 and later rebranded Georgian Airways, emerged as the leading carrier and was designated flag carrier in 1999. Georgian aviation has since been repeatedly shaped by regional geopolitics — the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, Russia's 2019–2023 flight ban, a 2021 bankruptcy tied to COVID-19 and the ban, and Ukrainian sanctions imposed on Georgian Airways in 2023 after Moscow flights resumed. Because Georgia's relations with Russia and its aviation-sanctions environment remain unsettled, current operational and legal status should be checked against up-to-date sources.
Georgia regained independence from the USSR; the Soviet Aeroflot Georgian directorate's assets became the fragmented basis of a new national aviation sector.
Airzena was established, initially operating charter flights to the UAE, Italy, China, Egypt, India and Syria alongside scheduled service to Vienna.
Airzena was designated Georgia's flag carrier, consolidating its role as the country's leading airline.
The carrier leased Boeing 737-500s from Hapag-Lloyd, described as the first case of a Georgian airline operating up-to-date Western aircraft.
Airzena rebranded as Georgian Airways, the name it has carried since.
The August 2008 war with Russia disrupted regional airspace and severed direct Russia-Georgia air links for years.
Russia banned all direct flights to and from Georgia following anti-Russian protests in Tbilisi; the ban was lifted by Russia in 2023, a reversal that itself proved contentious.
Georgian Airways filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2021, citing the Russian flight ban and roughly 11 months of Georgia's own COVID-19 international air-traffic suspension.
After Russia's ban was lifted in May 2023 and Georgian Airways resumed Tbilisi-Moscow service, Ukraine imposed sanctions on the airline in July 2023 — a politically sensitive, evolving situation that may have shifted further since.
Georgian Airways (formerly Airzena) · MyWay Airlines · Air Georgia
Wikipedia, Georgian Civil Aviation Administration, airline corporate history, regional news outlets (Jamestown, CAPA, aviation trade press)