New flights connect Tbilisi and Ashgabat

Travelling between Georgia and Turkmenistan will become easier thanks to new direct flights linking the two capital cities from September this year.

As a way to deepen tourism ties with Turkmenistan, Georgian officials visited Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, this week and started negotiations with the local aviation authorities.

The talks ended successfully and the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which guaranteed launching regular direct flights between Georgia’s capital Tbilisi and Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat.

Turkmenistan expected to launch the new flights from September 17, however the final decision about the date has was not been finalised.

Meanwhile, the MoU also noted the Turkmen airline could launch direct flights between "any points of Georgia and Turkmenistan without any restrictions”, announced Georgia’s Ministry of Economy.

Georgia also suggested to start working on a new agreement to offer more liberal and simplified aviation regulation to Turkmenistan and renew the previous agreement signed between the countries in 1993.