Georgian Plane Will Not Take Armenian National Team to Kosovo

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia has refused to grant permission for a Georgian registered aircraft to carry the Armenian national football team for upcoming away games to Kosovo.

The Armenian national football team is scheduled to play a friendly match against the Kosovo national team on June 6, and another match against Montenegro on June 9. The team was expected to fly via a chartered flight to Pristina, then to Podgorica, before returning to Yerevan.

Due to Georgia's refusal to issue the necessary permission, the Football Federation of Armenia has been forced to reassess the costs of the non-charter flights. Previously, the company 'Sky and More', responsible for the team's transportation, was set to provide this service for 82.7 million drams; however, after the contractual changes, the amount has risen to 91 million drams.

According to reports from 'Azatutyun', the Georgian registered plane was unable to obtain the diplomatic permission from the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the flight to Kosovo. 'Flights will be conducted using an aircraft registered in Europe, which has impacted the price change. Georgia does not recognize Kosovo's independence, and there are no diplomatic relations, which is presumably the basis for the denial of the flight permission.'