"The increase in the air ticket prices is due to four factors: the record fuel prices, the global inflation, the conflict in the region and the threat of new strains of the COVID-19 pandemic," - aviation expert Igor Aptsiauri stated. According to him, there is no precondition for reducing air ticket prices by the end of the year. The expert said 35-40% of the operating costs of airlines are spent on fuel, which leads to a record increase in ticket prices for all types, including low-cost airlines.
“For information, I will tell you that the cost of 1 ton of air fuel in Georgia is 1500 dollars, which means an increase of 125% compared to the pre-pandemic prices. It should be noted that the supply of aviation fuel on board in our country is taxed at zero rate, both in terms of excise and VAT, therefore, the decrease in prices will be only due to the reduction of the index in the international markets.
"The situation is better than last year, but the Georgian aviation market is still far from the pre-pandemic rate," - the aviation expert said, despite the fact that the dynamics of the recovery of the aviation market compared to 2019 was close to 85%.
One of the important challenges is the passenger flow, which is a global problem not only for Georgia. Igor Aptsiauri speaks about the joint efforts and positive expectations of the public and private sectors. According to him, the Georgian air market will catch up with pre-pandemic level (the 2019 data) by 2024.
To be reminded, foreigners can enter Georgia without a vaccination certificate and negative PCR test result, while the decision to abolish the mandatory use of facemasks is made by the airlines themselves.
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