Tbilisi International Airport

Tbilisi Airport is home to Georgian flag carrier Georgian Airways and MyWay Airlines, which was founded in 2017. The airport is served by approximately 30 airlines, mainly from Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia serving roughly 30 destinations out of Tbilisi. Due to the increasing popularity of Georgia and the city of Tbilisi as a tourist destination, the number of travelers grew since 2010 from 1 million to almost 4 million until the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The airspace of Georgia was closed for most of 2020 with the exception of government-mandated expatriation flights,^[5] but regular international air traffic resumed as of February 2021.

Following a political row in June 2019, Russia banned flights to and from Georgia starting 8 July 2019.^[6] Georgian Airways from Tbilisi to Moscow-Vnukovo have since been operated by Aircompany Armenia through Yerevan. The ban was still in effect at the end of 2021. The Kremlin has also banned all Russian airlines from flying to Georgia. A similar ban was in effect during 2006–2008.^[7]

The George W. Bush Avenue (Kakheti Highway) leads from the airport to the center of Tbilisi.^[8]

The first airport terminal building, which functions now as a VIP lounge, was constructed in 1952. Designed in the style of Stalinist architecture, the building featured a floor plan with symmetric axes and a monumental avant-corps in the form of a portico. The two wings featured blind arcades in giant order. Second terminal building was completed in 1968, designed by the chief architect Vladimer Beridze and others^[9][10] in the International Style,^[11] now is likewise out of public service.

In 1981 Tbilisi airport was the 12th largest airport in the Soviet Union, with 1,478,000 passengers on so-called central lines, which were flights connecting Tbilisi with cities in other Soviet republics.^[12] After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the civil war and the economic crisis in the newly independent Georgia, passenger numbers had dropped to 230,000 by 1998.^[13]

Tbilisi International Airport is operated by TAV Airports Holding (TAV) Urban Georgia since October 2005 whose concession has been extended until at least 2027.^[14] In Georgia, the company also operates Batumi International Airport for a 20-year term since May 2007. TAV Airports Holding, which owns a 76% share in Tbilisi airport operator TAV Urban Georgia, agreed with the Georgian state-owned United Airports of Georgia to reconstruct and extend the unused runway, one of the two runways at the Tbilisi airport, in line with ICAO standards to accept all types of aircraft, including the Boeing 747-8, Airbus A380-800, Antonov An-225 and Antonov An-124. A new F Code taxiway was also planned.^{[citation needed]}

Modernisation

February 2007 saw the completion of a US$90.5 million reconstruction project, with the construction of a new international terminal, a car park, improvements to the apron, taxiway and runway and the acquisition of ground handling equipment and an annual passenger capacity of 2.8 million.^[15] A rail link to the city centre was constructed, with an infrequent rail service of two trains per day each way. The airport got a contemporary and functional design, to provide an optimized flow of both passengers and luggage from the parking lot to the planes, with a 25,000 m² (270,000 sq ft) total usable area, while future expansions can be implemented without interrupting terminal operations. Various food and beverage operations have been incorporated in the new terminal, including four duty-free stores. The implementing party for the project was TAV Urban Georgia, a concessionaire and Special-purpose entity for the construction and operation of the airport, and the project was financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).^[16]

In 2016, the main runway of the airport was renovated and equipped with new navigation lighting. Runway guard lights and guidance signs at all the holding positions on the airport's main runway were added. The instrument landing system was also upgraded. The airfield lighting control and monitoring system was upgraded, including installation of new lighting signals on all four taxiways. In 2017, a new arrival terminal with an area of 12,000 square metres (130,000 sq ft), integrated with the existing terminal building, was completed to meet the increasing numbers of travelers. The terminal's capacity was increased to 3.5 million passengers per year.^[17] In addition to the expansion of the terminal building, this $33 million project implemented, among other things, a new boarding bridge with two exits, five new aircraft parking spaces, three 150-metre (490 ft) luggage racks and a new parking lot for 250 cars.^[18]

A new Tbilisi Metro overground line linking the airport with the city was announced in October 2018. The proposed extension would connect the airport with Samgori metro station as transfer point with the existing metro line. Construction was set to begin in late 2019,^[19] but the project was effectively abandoned in spring 2021 when a feasibility study did not produce the desired outcome.^[20]

Tbilisi Airport mainly serves destinations in Europe and the Middle East. Below are destinations served according to press releases and the schedules authorised by the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency on a seasonal basis.^[21]

On 20 July 1992, a Tupolev Tu-154 cargo plane loaded with about 20 tons of tea (carrying more than 2 tons over the weight limit for a safe take-off) overran the runway and crashed during a takeoff attempt, killing all 24 people aboard and 4 on the ground.^[99]

• Georgian Civil Aviation Administration
• List of the busiest airports in the former USSR
• List of airports in Georgia
• Transport in Georgia