The European Union and Georgia on Friday inked an open-skies agreement which, when ratified, will lift legal restrictions on flights between their territories, in what officials expect to be a major boost for Georgia's economy, DPA reported.
The EU is keen to strengthen ties with Georgia and its people, and sees improved transport links as a key way of doing so.
The agreement is "very important for further strengthening the overall economic, trade and tourism relations between Georgia and the EU. Indeed, it will allow Georgia to become a full partner of the EU in aviation and gradually integrate Georgia into a pan-European aviation market," EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said.
Once ratified by EU member states and the Georgian and European parliaments, the deal will allow any carrier from any EU member state to operate flights to Georgia from any EU country, and Georgian carriers to fly throughout the EU.
It will also lift all restrictions on the number, frequency and cost of flights, a commission statement said.
At present, direct flights exist between Georgia and nine EU states, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Poland.
EU-Georgia passenger traffic has grown by an average of 10 per cent per year over the past five years, while cargo traffic has grown 26 per cent annually, the statement said.
Similar agreements with other former-Soviet states - albeit ones closer to Western Europe, such as the Baltics - saw a rush of low-cost operators such as EasyJet and Ryanair opening flights to the region from states such as Britain, Germany and Finland.
Georgia is one member of the EU's Eastern Partnership, launched in May 2009, which is aimed at boosting business and travel ties in return for market liberalization and pro-democracy reforms.