FlyGeorgia (Georgian: ფლაი ჯორჯია; IATA: FGE) was the second national airline of Georgia, with its headquarters in Tbilisi, beginning its operations in August 2012.[1] It was a privately owned and controlled airline, which offered flights to a number of destinations in Europe, the Middle East and South Asia as well as in the CIS. As of the end of 2013, its operating license has been suspended. The company slogan was The World Awaits You.

FlyGeorgia
IATA ICAO Callsign
9Y FGE GEORGIAN WING
Founded2011
Ceased operations2013
HubsTbilisi International Airport
Fleet size2
Destinations6
HeadquartersTbilisi, Georgia
Websiteflygeorgia.ge

History edit

Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based Iranians Hoshang Hosseinpour (born 21 March 1967, Tehran),[a] Houshang Farsoudeh (born 10 October 1968, Tehran)[b] and Pourya Nayebi (born 25 July 1974, Tehran)[c] co-founded Fly Georgia in 2011.[2][3][4][5]

On 30 July 2012, it was officially announced that FlyGeorgia would start operating flights from Tbilisi to Batumi and the first flight would be launched on 3 August 2012. On 6 October 2012, it was officially stated that FGE would start direct flights from Tbilisi to Amsterdam with an Airbus A319.

At the end of October 2012, FlyGeorgia announced it had ordered 2 more A320 aircraft. The first of these aircraft would be delivered at the end of 2012, whilst the second one would be delivered to Tbilisi in March 2013. They would be purchased from the leasing company. Fly Georgia also declared it would start flights to Germany, Ukraine, UAE, Iraq, Brussels, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and many destinations to come.

In September 2013, Fly Georgia's aircraft, an A320 and two leased A319-100s, were seized at the Brussels Airport due to unpaid debts.[6]

On 16 October 2013, the Georgian civil aviation authority suspended FlyGeorgia's license and it is no longer allowed to operate any flights until further notice.[6]

Destinations edit

 
Cabin aboard a FlyGeorgia Airbus aircraft
Hub
Focus city
Future
Seasonal
Terminated route
City Country IATA ICAO Airport Refs
Amsterdam   Netherlands AMS EHAM Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Terminated
Antalya   Turkey AYT LTAI Antalya Airport Seasonal
Batumi   Georgia BUS UGSB Batumi International Airport Seasonal
Baghdad   Iraq BGW ORBI Baghdad International Airport [7]
Brussels   Belgium BRU EBBR Brussels Airport Terminated
Cairo   Egypt CAI HECA Cairo International Airport
Dubai   UAE DXB OMDB Dubai Airport
Düsseldorf   Germany DUS EDDL Düsseldorf Airport
Erbil   Iraq EBL ORER Erbil International Airport Terminated
Hurghada   Egypt HRG HEGN Hurghada International Airport Seasonal
Kyiv   Ukraine KBP UKBB Boryspil International Airport
Sharm el-Sheikh   Egypt SSH HESH Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport Seasonal
Tbilisi   Georgia TBS UGTB Tbilisi International Airport Hub
Tehran   Iran IKA OIIE Imam Khomeini International Airport

Fleet edit

 
A FlyGeorgia Airbus A319-100

The FlyGeorgia fleet consisted of the following aircraft (as of December 2012):[8]

FlyGeorgia Fleet
Aircraft Total Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Airbus A319-100 1 - 12 102 114
Airbus A320-200 1[9] - 16 122 138 [10]
Total 2 -

Notes edit

  1. ^ Hoshang Hosseinpour is also known as Houshang Hosein-Pur or Houshang Shahali Hosseinpour.
  2. ^ Houshang Farsoudeh is also known as Hushang Farsoudeh or Houshang Hossein Farsoudeh.
  3. ^ Pourya Nayebi is also known as Pourya Ali Asghar Nayebi.

References edit

  1. ^ Kirtzkhalia, N. (July 2012). "Fly Georgia brings first AIRBUS to Georgia". Trend (trend.az). Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  2. ^ Фитцгиббон, Уилл (Fitzgibbon, Will) (5 April 2016). "Шпионам и сомнительным пособникам разведслужб удается оставаться в тени благодаря хитрым приемам компании" [Spies and dubious intelligence aides manage to stay in the shadows thanks to the company's cunning tricks]. OCCCR (in Russian). Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Executive Order 13608: Treasury Targets Networks Linked To Iran". United States Department of Treasury. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  4. ^ Faucon, Benoît; Solomon, Jay; Fassihi, Farnaz (20 June 2013). "As Sanctions Bite, Iranians Invest Big in Georgia". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  5. ^ Ottolenghi, Emanuele (30 June 2015). "Snap-Back: A Journey Through Iranian Sanctions Evasion in Georgia: The fantasy is that sanctions halt economies. The reality is that enforcement requires tedious bookkeeping, painstaking forensic work, and the ability to stay a step ahead of experienced middlemen". Tablet (tabletmag.com). Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Georgian civil aviation authority suspends Fly Georgia's AOC".
  7. ^ "FlyGeorgia Launches Tbilisi – Baghdad Service from late-May 2013". UBM Aviation Worldwide Ltd. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ Kirtzkhalia, N. (30 July 2012). "Fly Georgia brings first AIRBUS to Georgia". Trend News Agency. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  9. ^ "Login". Archived from the original on 2016-11-05. Retrieved 2012-12-30.
  10. ^ Kirtzkhalia, N. (27 October 2012). "FlyGeorgia acquires two new planes". Trend News Agency. Retrieved 29 October 2012.

External links edit