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 kutaisi.aero
Map
KUT
Location of airport in Georgia
KUT
KUT (Imereti)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07/25 2,500 8,202 Asphalt
Statistics (2017)
Passengers 405,173
Passenger change 16-17 Increase49.3%
Source: DAFIF[1][2]

Kutaisi International Airport (IATA: KUT, ICAO: UGKO) also known as David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport[3] is an airport located 14 km (8.7 mi) west of Kutaisi, the third largest city in Georgia, legislative capital of 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.[4]

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[5] and Wizz Air CEO József Váradi.[6]

For preparation works, for the commissioning of the airport and training of staff, the French company Vinci Airports was contracted.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

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 European airports. For 2013 the operator reported 187,939 passengers.[10] In February 2016 Wizz Air announced a new base at Kutaisi Airport and is planning to add second base in 2018.

Currently, major expansion works of the airport are underway[11] as the airport is expecting 1 million passengers in 2020. Also, a railway station is being built in front of the terminal which will directly connect the airport to Tbilisi, Batumi and any other cities of Georgia served by Georgian Railways.[11]

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
flydubai Seasonal: Dubai-International[12]
Red Wings Airlines Moscow-Domodedovo
ServiceAir Mestia, Natakhtari
Ural Airlines Moscow-Domodedovo
Wizz Air Athens, Barcelona,[13] Beauvais,[13] Berlin-Schönefeld, Bucharest (ends 27 October 2018), Budapest, Dortmund, Gdańsk (begins 2 April 2019) Larnaca, Katowice, London-Luton, Memmingen, Milan-Malpensa, Thessaloniki, Prague,[13] Riga, Rome-Fiumicino,[13] Vienna (begins 11 October 2018),[14] Vilnius, Warsaw-Chopin, Wrocław
UtairUfa (begins 1 October 2018)[15]

Statistics

Annual passenger statistics[10]
YearTotal passengersChange from previous year
2017
405,173
Increase49.3%
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. ↑ Airport information for UGKO from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
  2. ↑ Airport information for KUT at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
  3. ↑ "The President of Georgia opened the runway at the David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport". Releases. The Administration of the President of Georgia. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  4. ↑ United Airports of Georgia company website: http://airports.ge/
  5. ↑ N., Kirtskhalia (27 September 2012). "Georgia's president, Hungarian PM to open new airport in Kutaisi". Trend News Agency. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  6. ↑ "Wizz Air запустил авиарейсы из Киева в Кутаиси". Interfax-Ukraine. 27 September 2012. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  7. ↑ Vinci Airports company website (retrieved 1 September 2013)
  8. ↑ "Georgian Bus". georgianbus.com. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  9. ↑ Jennings, Michael. "Kutaisi Public Transport Information". Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  10. 1 2 "Flight Schedule and Statistics - Kutaisi David the Builder International Airport". gcaa.ge/. Civil Aviation Agency of Georgia. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  11. 1 2 "Construction of New Terminal at Kutaisi International Airport to Start in August". Georgia Today on the Web. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  12. ↑ Liu, Jim (4 December 2017). "flydubai adds new destinations in S18". Routesonline. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Rome, Paris, Barcelona, Prague: Wizz Air launches new direct flights from Kutaisi". agenda.ge. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  14. ↑ Liu, Jim (23 July 2018). "Wizz Air accelerates selected Vienna routes launch in W18". Routesonline. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  15. ↑ "Direct flights from Ufa to Georgian city of Kutaisi". www.bashinform.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 21 September 2018.
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