Tbilisi International Airport

Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi International Airport[2] (Georgian: თბილისის შოთა რუსთაველის სახელობის საერთაშორისო აეროპორტი) (IATA: TBS, ICAO: UGTB) formerly Novo Alexeyevka International Airport, is the main international airport in Georgia, located 17 km (11 mi) southeast[1] of the capital Tbilisi.

Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi International Airport

თბილისის შოთა რუსთაველის სახელობის საერთაშორისო აეროპორტი
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerUnited Airports of Georgia LLC
OperatorTAV Airports Holding
ServesTbilisi
LocationTbilisi, Georgia
Hub for
Elevation AMSL1,624 ft / 495 m
Coordinates41°40′09″N 044°57′17″E
Websitehttp://tbilisiairport.com/
Map
TBS/UGTB
Location within Georgia
TBS/UGTB
TBS/UGTB (West and Central Asia)
TBS/UGTB
TBS/UGTB (Europe)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
13R/31L 3,000 9,843 Concrete
13L/31R (closed) 2,500 8,202 Asphalt
Helipads
Number Length Surface
m ft
H1 30 98 Asphalt/Concrete
Statistics (2019)
Passengers3,692,202
Passenger change 18-193.1%
Source: Georgian AIP at EUROCONTROL[1]

History

The first airport terminal building was constructed in 1952. Designed by the architect V. Beridze in the style of Stalinist architecture the building featured a floor plan with symmetric axes and a monumental risalit in the form of a portico. The two side wings featured blind arcades in giant order. A new terminal building was finished in 1990, designed in the International style.[3] In 1981 Tbilisi airport was the 12th largest airport in the Soviet Union, with 1,478,000 passengers on so-called central lines, that is on flights connecting Tbilisi with cities in other Soviet republics.[4] In 1998, the number of passengers had shrunk to 230,000 per year.[5]

Tbilisi International Airport is operated by TAV since October 2005. In Georgia, the company also operates Batumi Airport for 20-year term starting from May 2007.[6] TAV Airports Holding, which owns 76% shares in Tbilisi airport operator TAV Urban Georgia, agreed with the Georgian state-owned United Airports of Georgia to reconstruct the unused runway, one of the two runways at the Tbilisi airport. The old runway will be reconstructed and extended according to ICAO standards and code F regulations and will be able to accept all type of aircraft, including the Boeing 747-8, Airbus A380-800, Antonov An-225 and Antonov An-124. A new F Code taxiway is also planned.[7]

Passenger traffic at the airport tripled between 2009 and 2016 to 2.2 million passengers.

Overview

February 2007 saw the completion of a 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. A rail link to the city centre has been constructed, with an infrequent rail service of two trains per day each way.[8] George W. Bush Avenue leads from the airport[9] to downtown Tbilisi.[10]

The airport has a contemporary and functional design. It is designed to provide the optimum 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. There is scope for future expansions without interrupting terminal operations. It has high-tech contemporary systems, keeping passenger convenience and efficiency of the terminal operations in mind, throughout functional spaces organized in an elegant manner. The food and beverage operations are carried out by BTA at 7 points with a staff of 75, while ATU provides Duty Free services at its four stores.[11] The total project cost was US$90.5 million. The capacity of the terminal building is 2.8 million passengers per year.[12] The implementing agency and the borrower for the project is TAV Urban Georgia, a concessionaire and special purpose vehicle for the construction and operation of the airport.

During 2016, the main runway of the airport was resurfaced and fitted with new navigation lights, which will improve the safety level of the runway. Runway guard lights, LED stop bar signals and guidance signs at all the holding positions on the airport's main runway were also added. The instrument landing system was also upgraded to CAT II, which enables aircraft to land during poor weather conditions. The airfield lighting control and monitoring system was upgraded, including installation of new lighting signals on all four taxiways.[13]

In June 2016, due to an increase in passenger demand, TAV Georgia started construction of a new arrivals terminal. The new complex will be integrated with the existing terminal building and is expected to increase the airport's terminal capacity to 3.5 million passengers annually. The new arrivals terminal will occupy a total area of 12,000 m2 (130,000 sq ft) and will be completed by the end of 2017.[14]

The new arrivals terminal was opened by the Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili, TAV Holding President Sani Senar, Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication of Turkey, Ahmet Arslan and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia, on September 26, 2017. With an investment of $33 million from TAV Georgia, the new terminal occupies 12 000 sq. meters. It has a new two-exit boarding bridge, five new parking lots for planes, three 150 meter long luggage carriers, and a new parking lot for 250 cars.[15]

A new Tbilisi metro overground line linking airport with the city was announced in October 2018. Proposed extension would connect an airport with Samgori station as a transfer point with the first line. Construction is set to begin in late 2019.[16]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Athens
Air Arabia Sharjah
Air Astana Almaty, Nur-Sultan[17]
Air Cairo Seasonal: Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh
Air France Seasonal: Paris–Charles de Gaulle[18]
Air Malta Seasonal: Malta[19][20]
airBaltic Riga
Aircompany Armenia Yerevan
AnadoluJet Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[21]
Arkia Seasonal: Tel Aviv
ATA Airlines Seasonal: Tehran–Imam Khomeini
Azerbaijan Airlines Baku
Belavia Minsk
Buta AirwaysBaku[22][23]
China Southern Airlines Beijing–Capital,[24] Ürümqi (both suspended)[25]
Ellinair Seasonal: Heraklion, Thessaloniki
flydubai Dubai–International[26]
flynasSeasonal: Dammam,[27] Jeddah,[27][28] Riyadh[27][28]
Georgian Airways Amsterdam, Berlin–Schönefeld, Kiev–Boryspil, London–Gatwick, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Tel Aviv,[29] Vienna, Yerevan[30]
Seasonal: Bahrain, Barcelona,[31] Batumi, Bologna,[31] Brussels, Prague
Gulf Air Bahrain, Baku
IndiGo Delhi
Iran Air Isfahan,[32] Tehran–Imam Khomeini (both suspended)[33][34][35][36]
Iran Aseman Airlines Tehran–Imam Khomeini (suspended)[35][36]
Israir Airlines Seasonal: Tel Aviv
Jazeera Airways Kuwait City[37]
Kuwait Airways Seasonal: Kuwait City[38]
Korean Air Seasonal charter: Seoul–Incheon[39]
LOT Polish Airlines Warsaw–Chopin
Lufthansa Munich
MyWay Airlines Tel Aviv
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[40]
Qatar AirwaysDoha
Qeshm AirTehran–Imam Khomeini (suspended)[35][36]
Ryanair Bergamo, Cologne/Bonn[41]
SalamAir Seasonal: Muscat
SCAT Airlines Aktau
SkyUp Kharkiv, Kiev–Boryspil, Odessa
Sun d'Or Tel Aviv
Taban Air Tehran–Imam Khomeini (suspended)[35][36]
Thai AirAsia X Seasonal charter: Bangkok-Don Mueang [42]
Turkish Airlines Ankara, Istanbul
Ukraine International Airlines Kiev–Boryspil
Uzbekistan Airways Tashkent[43]
Zagros Airlines Tehran–Imam Khomeini (suspended)[35][36]

Cargo
AirlinesDestinations
CargoluxBaku, Kuala Lumpur–International, Luxembourg, Singapore, Zhengzhou (Suspended) [25], Taiwan
Silk Way AirlinesBaku
Turkish Cargo Istanbul–Atatürk

Statistics
Departure hall
Ground floor arrivals and check-in
Third Floor used for departures
Tbilisi Airport station with a train about to depart for the centre
Annual passenger statistics[44]
2019
3,692,202
 03.1%
2018
3,808,619
 20.4%
2017
3,164,139
 40.5%
2016
2,252,535
 22.0%
2015
1,847,111
 17.3%
2014
1,575,386
 09.7%
2013
1,436,046
 17.8%
2012
1,219,175
 15.2%
2011
1,058,679
 28.7%
2010
0822,772
 17.1%
2009
0702,916
 01.7%
2008
0714,976
 16.1%
2007
0615,873
 08.5%
2006
0567,402
 03.7%
2005
0547,150

Annual passenger numbers at Tbilisi international Airport (millions)
Update: March 2020
Most Popular Routes[45]
CountryDestinationAirportWeekly flightsAirlines
 TurkeyIstanbulAtatürk Airport, Sabiha Gökçen Airport47Turkish Airlines (35 weekly),[46] Pegasus Airlines (12 weekly)
 UAEDubaiDubai-International28flydubai (4 daily)
 UkraineKievBoryspil, Zhulyany26Georgian Airways (1 daily), Ukraine International Airlines (2 daily), SkyUp (5 weekly)
 IsraelTel AvivBen Gurion Airport18Georgian Airways (12 weekly), El Al (3 weekly), MyWay Airlines (3 weekly)
 QatarDohaHamad International Airport18Qatar Airways
 AzerbaijanBakuHeydar Aliyev Airport14Azerbaijan Airlines
 IranTehranImam Khomeini Airport13Kish Airlines (1 daily), Qeshm Air (6 weekly)
 GermanyMunichMunich Airport9Lufthansa
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See also

References
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  43. Liu, Jim (22 April 2019). "Uzbekistan Airways adds Tbilisi service from mid-July 2019". Routesonline. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  44. "Tbilisi Airport - Airport Statistics".
  45. "Scheduled flights from Tbilisi International Airport (TBS)".
  46. "Turkish Airlines launches flights to Tbilisi from Istanbul's new airport". Agenda.ge. Retrieved 23 January 2019.

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