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Within hours of easyJet announcing a new no-frills link from London Luton airport to Tbilisi from spring 2025, arch-rival British Airways has hit back with twice as many flights on offer from London Heathrow to the Georgian capital.

BA will start flying between the UK’s biggest hub and Tbilisi on 30 March 2025, which is two days before easyJet. British Airways is offering flights on the same days as easyJet – Tuesday and Saturday – as well as Sundays and Thursdays.

Both airlines are using Airbus A320 aircraft. And while easyJet is a one-class only operation, BA appears to be offering business class on the five-hour-plus overnight trip.

The premium cabin is expected to be popular with connecting travellers. Airline analyst Sean Moulton said: “British Airways will connect the city to and from the US, helping to boost loads and increase prosperity for the region.”

There are also a significant number of Russians with business interests in Georgia and London.

Georgia is prime territory for a surge in tourism. Tbilisi has a superb natural setting beneath the mountains and astride the Kura river – the main waterway through the country.

The old town at the heart of Tbilisi is charming, with medieval buildings only part of a fascinating repertoire of architecture that also includes Art Nouveau and Soviet-era structures.

Tbilisi is also an excellent base for exploring the east of Georgia, including the magnificent monastery at Mtskheta to the north and the fascinating city of Gori – Stalin’s home town – to the west.

Parts of Georgia are off-liimits, with the Foreign Office advising against all travel to the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which are effectively under Russian control.

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The FCDO also warns: “Ethnic minorities and LGBT+ people may face discrimination. Harassment and assault based on race and sexuality do take place.”

Flights to Tbilisi have operated only intermittently, and to have two airlines announcing new routes on the same day is highly unusual.

EasyJet, Britain's biggest budget airline, said earlier it would launch the first low-cost link to the capital of the former Soviet republic.

A fare comparison by The Independent for a return trip 6-10 May 2025 revealed:

But the BA fare includes a more generous, two-piece cabin baggage allowance. With the same hand luggage, the easyJet fare rises to £236 return.

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