Georgian national airline bans President Salome Zourabichvili
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Tbilisi/Georgia: Georgian national airline Georgian Airways banned the country's President Salome Zourabichvili from using its services. This was after Salome announced that she would boycott the airline company since it resumed flights to Russia, Reuters reported.
In May, Russia announced lifting a four-year-old ban on direct flights to Georgia, along with cancelling a decades-old visa requirement for Georgians who wish to visit Russia.
Salome asked Georgian authorities to stop Russia's plans, which the authorities ignored.
Founder of the privately owned Georgian Airways, Tamaz Gaiashvili, told the Russian news agency TASS on Sunday that Salome has become "persona non grata" and the ban on her will continue till she apologises to the "Georgian people".
When Georgian authorities welcomed the resumption of flights, some protesting citizens who wanted Georgia to distance itself from Moscow staged demonstrations in the capital Tbilisi on Sunday.
In recent years, the Georgian government has worked in favour of Russia, intending to mend the ties between them. It has not imposed any sanctions on Moscow so far over the war in Ukraine. Also, President Salome's relations with the administration are strained. Her position is largely ceremonial. She has warned that Russia could jeopardise Georgia's chances to join European Union.