On 21 August the CEO of the United Airports of Georgia George Chogovadze and the Chief Commercial Officer of Ryanair Company David O’Brien signed an Agreement of Cooperation in the presence of the Georgian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Natia Turnava, reported georgiatoday.

“I have just signed the Agreement of Cooperation, which is the successful completion of intensive negotiations we have been holding for the past few months with Ryanair, one of the largest low-cost airlines. From November on, Ryanair will offer flights from the Kutaisi and Tbilisi International Airports!” read the Facebook post of Chogovadze. Natia Turnava has also commented on the case, noting that the agreement envisages carrying out flights to twelve new European destinations in total.

Georgia has already been added to the list of countries on the official webpage of Ryanair. During the first stage, the airline will carry out flights from Tbilisi to Milan and from Kutaisi to Marseille and Bologna. The flights to the three destinations that have been mentioned will be launched from November on and the price of the tickets starts at a cost as low as 20 EUR, whereas flights to the other nine destinations will be offered from 2020 on.

Ryanair DAC is an Irish low-cost airline founded in 1984, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with its primary operational bases at the Dublin and London Stansted airports. In 2016, Ryanair was the largest European budget airline by scheduled passenger volume and carried more international passengers than any other airline. The airline has been characterised by its rapid expansion, a result of the deregulation of the aviation industry in Europe in 1997 and the success of its low-cost business model. Ryanair's air-route network is operated in 38 countries in Europe, North Africa (Morocco), and the Middle East (Israel, Lebanon and Jordan).