SOCHI, July 11. /TASS/. Air traffic between Sochi and Tbilisi, which stopped in 2019, resumed on Tuesday.

The first plane took off from Sochi International Airport to Georgia. The flights are being carried out by the Red Wings airline, the press service of the air hub told TASS.

"The flight has taken off," the press service said. According to the online flight board of the Sochi airport, the flight to Tbilisi was originally scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Moscow time, but was postponed.

There are no direct trains between Sochi and Tbilisi, the optimal route is Tbilisi - Batumi - Sochi.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the abolition of the visa regime for Georgian citizens starting on May 15. By another decree, he canceled a ban on flights by Russian airlines and the sale of tours to Georgia that had been in force since 2019. A plane belonging to Russian airline Azimuth landed at Tbilisi International Airport on May 19. It was the first flight from Moscow in four years. On May 20, Georgia’s national carrier Georgian Airways began to operate direct flights.