ArmInfo. The airspace of Georgia and Armenia will become part of the pan-European Free-Route Airspace (FRA) system from midnight on November 8 (11:00 p.m. Moscow time). This is stated in a statement released on Thursday by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia.
FRA suggests the possibility of moving away from established tortuous air routes to certain temporary corridors and flying along a straightened path. Such a change in the existing route before the advent of satellite navigation can reduce fuel consumption and thus increase the environmental friendliness of the flight.
"I am glad that in Transcaucasia we were the first to introduce a system of free choice of routes, and today we are starting the second stage of this concept. We enable airlines that will cross Georgia and Armenia under the same route to choose the shortest way to travel, save money time and fuel and, accordingly, more efficiently spend money. This is a rather difficult mission, and I am glad that our team successfully coped with this global challenge, " CEO of Sakaeronavigatsii (Cargo Air Navigation) Gocha Mezvrishvili stated.
The authorities of both countries began work on the introduction of a free-flight airspace regime in 2017. Airplanes in the skies of Georgia and Armenia will be able to freely choose a route, indicating only entry and exit points, and their chosen routes will be marked as free routes of the South Caucasus airspace (Free- Route Airspace in South Caucasus area).
Georgia joined the initiative of the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation to introduce free routes in 2017. According to the organization's action plan, free air routes throughout Europe will be fully operational by 2022, Georgia reports online.