2016-07-16
Due to recent developments taking place in Turkey and as a result of the Government's coordinated activities, all Georgian nationals have already returned from Turkey. Under the instructions of Prime Minister, relevant agencies, including Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Finance worked in an intense regime.
To ensure swift return of Georgian nationals from Turkey, Georgian Airways active interacted with Atlas Global and Turkish Airlines; Atlas Global launched additional flight - the airplane landed in Tbilisi airport at 21:30. 153 passengers, including 4 newborns were on the board of the plane. Turkish Airlines launched additional flight from Istanbul as well - 141 passengers were on the board of the plane that landed in Tbilisi International Airport at 18:45.
All passengers that had been left at Turkish airports due to the latest developments in the neighboring state, are already in Georgia. Georgian nationals undertaking transit flights to various countries, are waiting for their turn.
Members of the children's folk ensemble "Qartuli Geni" have safely departed for Georgia - due to the developments in Turkey their bus had previously stopped at a distance of 60 kilometers from Istanbul.
The schedule of regular flights from Turkey to Georgia has been identified. Plane of Atlas Global will depart for Tbilisi at 23:45, the flight from Ataturk airport is scheduled for 01:40.
Restrictions introduced at the border crossing points for the purpose of ensuring safety of Georgian nationals have been removed since 16:00 and uninterrupted movement of Georgian citizens in the direction of Turkey is possible via land and sea borders, as well as via the crossing points of the airports.
Customs check points near the Turkish-Georgian borderline, including "Sarphi", "Kartsakhi", "Vale" are operating in a normal regime and handling of passengers and cargo to Europe is uninterrupted.