Our revenues have made up 1 million GEL amid coronavirus, - Amiran Manjavadze, director of Vanilla Sky declared to BM.GE. Vannilla Sky is a domestic company which performs flights at Nataktari, Mestia, Ambrolauri and Batumi airports. To note, flights are temporary suspended due to the coronavirus.
The head of the company focused on the specifics of the management of air company and noted that this period was difficult for the company and its employees.
"Our income amounted to one million GEL during this period. We are now at a standstill, and merely perform small charters from abroad.
We have 70 employees and cannot pay their salaries. We can’t take a vacation because aviation can’t be stopped, engineers must be at the place to make plane technically sound, even if we don’t carry out flights. The skills of our employees are different. Even cleaners are highly qualified, because they need to know how to behave at the airport. All employees have undergone special trainings ...,” said Amiran Manjavidze.
According to him, there was a great demand for domestic flights before the pandemic, both from foreign visitors and locals. This request is still made by Georgian citizens, but the airline is still unable to perform domestic flights.
"The load of foreign visitors and locals was about 50/50. For example, 70% of passengers in Batumi were Georgians, the situation was the same in Ambrolauri, and more foreigners used our flights to Mestia. However, there was not enough number of flights and Georgian consumers were oppressed, otherwise the demand for Mestia flights was high among the locals. Even today, there is a huge demand from the population and some people do not realize that restoration of flights does not depend on us, as the decision should be adopted by the government, “explained the director of Vanilla Sky.
According to him, they have already appealed to the Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Georgia and expects a response from them.
