David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport

Kutaisi International Airport
ქუთაისის საერთაშორისო აეროპორტი
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator “United Airports of Georgia” LLC
Serves Kutaisi, Georgia
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL 223 ft / 68 m
Coordinates 42°10′35″N 042°28′57″E / 42.17639°N 42.48250°E / 42.17639; 42.48250
Website kutaisiairport.ge
Map
KUT

Location of airport in Georgia

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07/25 2,500 8,202 Asphalt
Source: DAFIF[2][3]

Kutaisi International Airport (IATA: KUT, ICAO: UGKO) also known as David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport[4] is an airport located 14 km (8.7 mi) west of Kutaisi, the third largest city in Georgia and capital of the western region of Imereti. It is one of three international airports currently in operation in Georgia, along with Tbilisi International Airport serving the Georgian capital and Batumi International Airport near the Adjara Black Sea resort. The airport is operated by United Airports of Georgia, a state-owned company.[5]

History

The airport was closed for renovation in November 2011. Its reopening ceremony was held on 27 September 2012. It was attended by President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán[6] and Wizz Air CEO József Váradi.[7]

For preparation works for the commissioning of the airport and training of staff, the French company Vinci Airports was contracted.[8] Some construction work around the airport continues. There is one duty-free shop and two coffee shops operating at the airport. The airport is currently connected to scheduled marshrutkas operated by Georgian Bus, with services to Kutaisi, Tbilisi and Batumi after each arrival.[9] The airport terminal is located next to the main road between Kutaisi and Batumi, so it is possible to transfer to those cities also by marshrutka.[10]

The priority of Kutaisi airport is to attract low tariff airlines. A significant growth in the number of passenger has been noted soon after the reopening of the airport in 2012, mainly due to Wizz Air operations linking Kutaisi with Polish and Ukrainian airports. For 2013 the operator reported 187,939 passengers.[11]

In February 2016 Wizz Air announced a new base at Kutaisi Airport.

Airlines and destinations

Check-in hall
AirlinesDestinations
S7 Airlines Seasonal: Moscow-Domodedovo[12]
SCAT Airlines Aktau[13]
Service Air Mestia,[14] Natakhtari
Ukraine International AirlinesKharkiv,[15] Kiev-Boryspil[16]
Seasonal: Odessa[17]
Ural Airlines Moscow-Domodedovo
Wizz Air Berlin-Schönefeld, Budapest, Dortmund, Larnaca, London-Luton,[18] Memmingen,[19] Milan-Malpensa, Thessaloniki, Vilnius, Warsaw-Chopin
Seasonal: Katowice, Kaunas

Statistics

Annual passenger statistics[11]
Year Total passengers Change from previous year
2016
271,363
Increase48.3%
2015
182,954
Decrease16.1%
2014
218,003
Increase16.0%
2013
187,939
Increase1,353.3%
2012
12,932
Increase185.7%
2011
4,527
Decrease40.3%
2010
7,446
Steady

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://wizzair.com/en-gb/information-and-services/about-us/news/shownews/2016/09/23/wizz-air-opens-25th-base-in-kutaisi-georgia#/
  2. ↑ Airport information for UGKO from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
  3. ↑ Airport information for KUT at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
  4. ↑ "The President of Georgia opened the runway at the David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport". Releases. The Administration of the President of Georgia. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  5. ↑ United Airports of Georgia company website: http://airports.ge/
  6. ↑ N., Kirtskhalia (27 September 2012). "Georgia's president, Hungarian PM to open new airport in Kutaisi". Trend News Agency. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  7. ↑ "Wizz Air запустил авиарейсы из Киева в Кутаиси". Interfax-Ukraine. 27 September 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  8. ↑ Vinci Airports company website (retrieved 1 September 2013)
  9. ↑ http://www.georgianbus.com/
  10. ↑ Jennings, Michael. "Kutaisi Public Transport Information". Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Flight Schedule and Statistics - Kutaisi David the Builder International Airport". gcaa.ge/. Civil Aviation Agency of Georgia. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  12. ↑ "Schedule". S7.ru. S7 Airlines. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  13. ↑ Liu, Jim (23 March 2017). "SCAT adds new routes in S17". Routesonline. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  14. ↑ http://vanillasky.ge/index.php?action=gverdi&gverdi_id=237&Lang=
  15. ↑ "МАУ возобновит рейсы из Харькова в Грузию". "Бизнес Грузия". 7 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "МАУ возобновит закрытые Wizz Air рейсы Киев-Кутаиси". avianews.com by Aviation Today. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  17. ↑ Liu, Jim (23 February 2017). "Ukraine International plans Odessa – Kutaisi June 2017 launch". Routesonline. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  18. ↑ Morrison, Thea (16 February 2017). "Wizz Air to Launch Kutaisi - London Flights from Summer". Georgia Today on the Web. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  19. ↑ "Timetable". Wizz Air Hungary Ltd.
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