Georgia: Russian flight ban depreciated Georgian national currency

The head of the National Bank of Georgia announced that Georgia calculated the losses resulting from the termination of flights with Russia, and they amount to about $300 million.

“Statements about the termination of Russian flights, as well as the dissemination of information on the introduction of other formal or informal trade sanctions, have created conditions for the depreciation of the exchange rate,” the bank official said.

According to the head of the National Bank of Georgia, since the beginning of the year, the country’s national currency has fallen in value against the US dollar by almost 10 percent.

Earlier, Georgian Prime Minister spoke of financial losses due to the cessation of flights between Georgia and Russia. He claimed about 350 million dollars, which the country’s budget lost in five months – during this time, Russian tourists did not visit the Transcaucasian country.

Russia stopped air communication with Georgia in July 2019 after the opposition protests held in Tbilisi.

Since October 16, air travel between countries has resumed. Currently, there are several flights a week from Moscow to Kutaisi.