easyJet announces new direct flight to one of Europe's oldest cities
easyJet is set to introduce a direct flight from London Luton airport to the city in April 2025.
by Ellen Jenne · The MirrorAirline easyJet has announced a new direct flight to one of the oldest cities in Europe, making it the first budget route to the city.
Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, will be connected to Britain via a flight from Luton to the capital of the former Soviet republic.
Beginning from April next year, people with the Luton-based airline will be able to fly to Tbilisi on Tuesdays and Saturdays, according to The Independent. While a direct flight between the two airports is around 2,223 miles, it would involve travelling over Ukraine and Russia, which are currently off-limits to Western airlines.
According to The Independent, the actual route flown is thought to be much longer, with the flight running at five hours to Georgia, and five hours and 40 minutes on its return to Luton. The return flight on Saturdays will touchdown at Luton just after midnight.
Sean Moulton, an airline analyst, told The Independent: “easyJet has been expanding its network into new cities in recent times – adding Istanbul and Cairo already, with the likes of Derry and Tromso coming this winter.
“Now another new city and, in fact, a new country to its network - Georgia. Tbilisi is one of the oldest cities in Europe and is one of the last remaining European cities not to have a direct flight to London.
“It’s been a relatively difficult place to get to since it’s been four years since the last scheduled flights from the UK to Georgia, this new twice weekly connection will help to regrow tourism to the region and boost trade links between the UK and Caucasus.”
Until the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, budget airline Wizz Air flew between Luton and the city of Kutaisi in Georgia.