On May 21, Georgian Airways declared Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili persona non grata on its aircraft. According to Tamaz Gaiashvili, the company's board of directors chairman, this is a response to Zurabishvili's call for a boycott of the airline after the start of direct flights to Moscow.

"We will not let her on board," Gaiashvili said. He demanded that the president apologize to the airline and the entire people of Georgia. Gaiashvili also recalled Zourabichvili's French citizenship, noting that this lady walked around Paris.

"Let this lady tell about her ancestors, who, together with the treasury of Georgia, plundered churches-monasteries and national museums and fled, leaving the Georgian people hungry," Giashvili said.

Notably, on May 20, Georgian Airways made its first direct flight to Moscow since 2019. The President of Georgia convened an emergency briefing on this matter and stated that she would not use the airline's services.