Tbilisi International Airport

Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi International Airport
თბილისის შოთა რუსთაველის სახელობის საერთაშორისო აეროპორტი
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner United Airports of Georgia LLC
Operator TAV Airports Holding
Serves Tbilisi
Location Tbilisi, Georgia
Hub for Georgian Airways
Elevation AMSL 1,624 ft / 495 m
Coordinates 41°40′09″N 044°57′17″E / 41.66917°N 44.95472°E / 41.66917; 44.95472Coordinates: 41°40′09″N 044°57′17″E / 41.66917°N 44.95472°E / 41.66917; 44.95472
Website tbilisiairport.com
Map
TBS

Location within Georgia

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
13R/31L 3,000 9,843 Concrete
Helipads
Number Length Surface
m ft
H1 30 98 Asphalt/Concrete
Source: Georgian AIP at EUROCONTROL[1]

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.

History

Departure hall
Ground floor arrivals and check-in
Third Floor used for departures
Passport control
The airport's former main terminal complex

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 airport in Batumi 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 6 trains per day each way. George W. Bush Avenue leads from the airport to downtown Tbilisi.[8]

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.[9] The total project cost was 90.5 million USD. The capacity of the terminal building is 2.8 million passengers per year.[10] 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.[11]

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.[12]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Athens
Seasonal charter: Heraklion[13]
Aeroflot Moscow–Sheremetyevo[14]
Air Arabia Sharjah
Air Arabia Jordan Seasonal: Amman-Queen Alia
Air Astana Almaty, Astana[15]
airBaltic Riga
Air Cairo Sharm el-Sheikh
Arkia Seasonal: Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion
ATA Airlines Tehran–Imam Khomeini
AtlasGlobal Istanbul–Atatürk
Armenia Aircompany Yerevan
Azerbaijan Airlines Baku
Belavia Minsk
Buta AirwaysBaku (begins 1 September 2017)[16]
China Southern Airlines Beijing–Capital,[17] Ürümqi
DART Ukrainian AirlinesKiev-Zhuliany[18]
Dniproavia Dnipro
Ellinair Seasonal: Heraklion,[19] Thessaloniki[19]
flydubai Dubai–International[20]
Georgian Airways Amsterdam, Batumi, Kiev-Boryspil,[21] London-Gatwick,[21] Moscow–Vnukovo, Prague,[21] St Petersburg, Tehran-Imam Khomeini, Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion, Vienna, Yerevan
Seasonal: Beirut, Makhachkala, Mashhad, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Shiraz
Seasonal charter: Ahvaz, Barcelona[22]
Gulf Air Bahrain[23]
Iran Aseman Airlines Seasonal: Tehran–Imam Khomeini[24]
LOT Polish Airlines Warsaw-Chopin
Lufthansa Munich
Nordavia St Petersburg[25]
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[26]
PobedaRostov-on-Don[27]
Qatar Airways Baku, Doha
Qeshm Airlines Tehran–Imam Khomeini
Taban Air Tehran–Imam Khomeini[28]
S7 Airlines Moscow-Domodedovo, Novosibirsk[29]
SCAT Airlines Aktau
Sun D'Or
operated by El Al 		Seasonal: Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion[30][31]
Turkish Airlines Istanbul–Atatürk, Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Ukraine International Airlines Kiev–Boryspil
Ural Airlines Moscow-Zhukovsky,[32] St Petersburg,[33] Sochi,[34] Yekaterinburg
Wataniya Airways Kuwait[35]
Wings of LebanonSeasonal charter: Beirut[36]
YanairKiev-Zhuliany
Seasonal: Odessa[37]
Zagros Airlines Shiraz, Tehran-Imam Khomeini

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
CargoluxBaku, Kuala Lumpur–International, Luxembourg, Singapore
Coyne Airways Aktau, Aktobe, Amsterdam, Ashgabat, Atyrau, Balkanabat, Baku, Kyzylorda, Mary, Oral, Shymkent, Turkmenbashi, Yerevan[38]
Qatar Airways CargoDoha, Milan–Malpensa
Silk Way AirlinesBaku
Turkish Airlines Cargo Istanbul–Atatürk

Statistics

Annual passenger statistics[39]
Year Total passengers Change from previous year
2005
547,150
Steady
2006
567,402
Increase 3.7%
2007
615,873
Increase 8.5%
2008
714,976
Increase 16.1%
2009
702,916
Decrease 1.7%
2010
822,772
Increase 17.1%
2011
1,058,679
Increase 28.7%
2012
1,219,175
Increase 15.2%
2013
1,436,046
Increase 17.8%
2014
1,575,386
Increase 9.7%
2015
1,847,111
Increase 17.25%
2016
2,252,535
 Increase 21.95%

According to TAV Georgia, the most popular routes, during the period of January–February 2017 are :

Most Popular Routes
CountryDestinationAirportWeekly flightsAirlines
 Russia Moscow Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo 48 Aeroflot (2 daily), Georgian Airways (3 daily), S7 Airlines (1 daily)
 Turkey Istanbul Atatürk Airport, Sabiha Gökçen Airport 42 Turkish Airlines, AtlasGlobal, Pegasus Airlines
 UAE Dubai Dubai-International 17 flydubai
 UAE Sharjah Sharjah Airport 17 Air Arabia
 Iran Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport ATA Airlines, Qeshm Airlines, Taban Air
 Ukraine Kiev Boryspil, Zhulyany 25 Bravo Airways, DART Ukrainian Airlines, Georgian Airways, Ukraine International Airlines, Yanair

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "EAD Basic".
  2. ↑ თბილისის აეროპორტს შოთა რუსთაველის სახელი მიენიჭა Interpressnews Georgia
  3. ↑ Baulig, Josef; Maia Mania; Hans Mildenberg; Karl Ziegler. Architekturführer Tbilisi (in German and Georgian). Landeshauptstadt Saarbrücken/Technische Universität Kaiserslautern. p. 70. ISBN 3-936890-39-0.
  4. ↑ Sagers, Matthew; Thomas Maraffa (July 1990). "Soviet Air-Passenger Transportation Network". Geographical Review. American Geographical Society. 80 (3): 269. doi:10.2307/215304.
  5. ↑ "Global transport" (13–15). Stroudgate: Chartered Institute of Transport in the UK. 1998: 97.
  6. ↑ Civil Georgia. "Civil.Ge - TAV Gets Tbilisi Airport Operation Extension for Planned USD 65m Investment".
  7. ↑ "tbilisiairport.com - TAV Georgia to invest $65 million in Tbilisi Airport".
  8. ↑ "Tbilisi Officials Name Street After Bush". Associated Press. 14 September 2005.
  9. ↑ Tbilisi Airport Terminal Information
  10. ↑ "Terminal features". tbilisairport.com.
  11. ↑ "Tbilisi Airport’s New Arrivals Terminal, Tbilisi, Georgia". airport-technology.com. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  12. ↑ "Groundbreaking Ceremony Of New Arrivals Terminal At Tbilisi International Airport". tbilisiairport.com. 27 June 2016.
  13. ↑ "ANDA Air and Aegean Airlines to increase flights in Georgia". Agenda.ge. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  14. ↑ "Aeroflot resumes service to Tbilisi from October 2014".
  15. ↑ L, J (19 February 2015). "Air Astana Adds Seasonal Astana – Tbilisi Link June – August 2015". Airline Route. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  16. ↑ "Buta Airways preliminary operation from Sep 2017". routesonline.com. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  17. ↑ Karsaulidze, Eka (20 June 2016). "New Tbilisi-Beijing Flight to Begin in September". Georgia Today. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  18. ↑ http://aerodart.com.ua/en
  19. 1 2 "Flights schedule". Ellinair. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  20. ↑ "Flydubai launches Tbilisi flights".
  21. 1 2 3 Liu, Jim (2 March 2017). "Georgian Airways schedules new routes in S17". Routesonline. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  22. ↑
  23. ↑ Gugunishvili, Nino (23 January 2017). "Gulf Air to Start Direct Flights to Tbilisi". Georgia Today on the Web. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  24. ↑ "Iran Aseman Airlines Launches Regular Tehran-Tbilisi Flights • Tabula". Tabula. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  25. ↑ Liu, Jim. "Nordavia expands St. Petersburg network in S17". Routesonline. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  26. ↑ "Scheduled Flight Search". Pegasus Airlines. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  27. ↑ Liu, Jim (3 October 2016). "Pobeda schedules new Caucasus routes from late-Oct 2016". Routesonline. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  28. ↑ "SCAT and TABAN Airlines to increase flights in Georgia". agenda.ge. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  29. ↑ Liu, Jim (31 October 2016). "S7 plans Novosibirsk – Tbilisi service in S17". Routesonline. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  30. ↑ L, J (2 December 2015). "Sun D’Or Adds New Seasonal Weekly Service in S16". Airline Route. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  31. ↑ "Tbilisi and Batumi airports to welcome Tel Aviv flights". eTurboNews, Inc. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  32. ↑ http://www.anna.aero/2017/08/09/ural-airlines-2/
  33. ↑ ""Уральские авиалинии" увеличивают частоту полетов в направлении Грузии". Interfax-Azerbaijan. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  34. ↑ Liu, Jim (19 May 2017). "Ural Airlines adds Sochi – Tbilisi flight from May 2017". Routesonline. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  35. ↑ https://www.wataniyaairways.com/your-destinations/
  36. ↑ Morrison, Thea (22 May 2017). "New Airline Company -Wings of Lebanon Enters Georgian Market". Georgia Today on the Web. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  37. ↑ "YANAIR ВИКОНУВАТИМЕ ПРЯМІ РЕЙСИ З ОДЕСИ В ТБІЛІСІ І БАТУМІ". ТОВ «Міжнародний Аеропорт Одеса». Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  38. ↑ Ltd, Local Web Solutions Uk. "Coyne Airways > Caspian Schedule". Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  39. ↑ "Tbilisi Airport - Airport Statistics".

Media related to Tbilisi International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.