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
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 airport-tbilisi.com
Map
TBS
Location within Georgia
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
13R/31L 3,000 9,843 Concrete
13L/31R 2,500 8,202 Asphalt
Helipads
Number Length Surface
m ft
H1 30 98 Asphalt/Concrete
Statistics (2017)
Passengers 3,164,139
Passenger change 16-17 Increase40.47%
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

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. George W. Bush Avenue leads from the airport[8] to downtown Tbilisi.[9]

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.[10] The total project cost was 90.5 million USD. The capacity of the terminal building is 2.8 million passengers per year.[11] 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.[12]

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.[13]

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 meters long luggage carriers, and a new parking lot for 250 cars.[14]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Athens
Aeroflot Moscow–Sheremetyevo
Air Arabia Sharjah
Air Astana Almaty, Astana[15]
airBaltic Riga
Air Cairo Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh
Arkia Seasonal: Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion
ATA Airlines Tehran–Imam Khomeini
Belavia Minsk
Buta AirwaysBaku[16][17]
China Southern Airlines Beijing–Capital,[18] Ürümqi
El Al Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion
Ellinair Seasonal: Heraklion, Thessaloniki
flydubai Dubai–International[19]
flynasSeasonal: Dammam,[20] Jeddah,[20][21] Riyadh[20][21]
Georgian Airways Amsterdam, Barcelona,[22] Berlin–Schönefeld, Bologna,[22] Bratislava,[23] Brussels, Cologne/Bonn, Kazan,[24] Kiev–Boryspil, London–Gatwick, Moscow–Vnukovo, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Prague, Saint Petersburg, Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion, Ufa (begins 3 April 2019),[25] Vienna, Vilnius (begins 2 April 2019),[25] Yerevan[26]
Seasonal: Batumi, Beirut
Gulf Air Bahrain
Iran Air Tehran–Imam Khomeini[27][28]
Iran Aseman Airlines Tehran–Imam Khomeini
Israir Airlines Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion
Jazeera Airways Kuwait City[29]
Kuwait Airways Seasonal: Kuwait City[30]
LOT Polish Airlines Warsaw–Chopin
Lufthansa Munich
MyWay Airlines Athens (begins 31 October 2018),[31] Budapest (begins 28 October 2018),[32] Düsseldorf (begins 29 October 2018), Kharkiv,[33] Kiev–Boryspil,[32]Rome-Fiumicino (begins 28 October 2018), Munich (begins 30 October 2018), Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion[34]
Nordavia St Petersburg[35]
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[36]
PobedaKrasnodar,[37] Kazan (begins 1 November 2018),[37] Perm (begins 29 October 2018),[38] Rostov-on-Don–Platov, Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg (begins 30 October 2018)[38]
Qatar AirwaysDoha
Qeshm AirTehran–Imam Khomeini
S7 Airlines Moscow-Domodedovo, Novosibirsk[39]
Salam Air Seasonal: Muscat
SCAT Airlines Aktau[40]
Taban Airline Tehran
TAROMBucharest (begins 31 October 2018)[41]
Turkish Airlines Istanbul–Atatürk,[42] Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Ukraine International Airlines Kiev–Boryspil
Ural Airlines Krasnodar,[43][44] Saint Petersburg, Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Zhukovsky
YanairKiev–Zhuliany
Seasonal: Odessa
Zagros Airlines Tehran–Imam Khomeini

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
CargoluxBaku, Kuala Lumpur–International, Luxembourg, Singapore, Zhengzhou, Taiwan
Silk Way AirlinesBaku
Turkish Airlines Cargo Istanbul–Atatürk, İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport

Statistics

Departure hall
Ground floor arrivals and check-in
Third Floor used for departures
Annual passenger statistics[45]
YearTotal passengersChange from previous year
2017
3,164,139
Increase 40.5%
2016
2,252,535
Increase 22.0%
2015
1,847,111
Increase 17.3%
2014
1,575,386
Increase 9.7%
2013
1,436,046
Increase 17.8%
2012
1,219,175
Increase 15.2%
2011
1,058,679
Increase 28.7%
2010
822,772
Increase 17.1%
2009
702,916
Decrease 1.7%
2008
714,976
Increase 16.1%
2007
615,873
Increase 8.5%
2006
567,402
Increase 3.7%
2005
547,150
Steady


Annual passenger numbers at Tbilisi international Airport (millions)

Update: September 2018





Most Popular Routes[46]
CountryDestinationAirportWeekly flightsAirlines
 RussiaMoscowDomodedovo, Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Zhukovsky49Aeroflot (2 daily), Georgian Airways (3 daily), S7 Airlines (1 daily), Ural Airlines (1 daily)
 TurkeyIstanbulAtatürk Airport, Sabiha Gökçen Airport40Turkish Airlines (4 daily), AtlasGlobal (1 daily), Pegasus Airlines (1 daily)
 IsraelTel AvivBen Gurion Airport30Georgian Airways, El Al, Israir Airlines, Arkia
 UAEDubaiDubai-International28flydubai
 UkraineKievBoryspil, Zhulyany28Georgian Airways (1 daily), Ukraine International Airlines (2 daily) , Yanair
 QatarDohaHamad International Airport21Qatar Airways
 IranTehranImam Khomeini Airport19ATA Airlines, Qeshm Airlines, Taban Air
 UAESharjahSharjah Airport17Air Arabia
 RussiaSaint PetersburgPulkovo Airport13Georgian Airways, Ural Airlines, Nordavia, Pobeda

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&ndash, 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 International Airport". Airport-Tbilisi. 22 July 2018.
  9. ↑ "Tbilisi Officials Name Street After Bush". Associated Press. 14 September 2005.
  10. ↑ Tbilisi Airport Terminal Information Archived 2007-07-06 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ "Terminal features". tbilisairport.com.
  12. ↑ "Tbilisi Airport's New Arrivals Terminal, Tbilisi, Georgia". airport-technology.com. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  13. ↑ "Groundbreaking Ceremony Of New Arrivals Terminal At Tbilisi International Airport". tbilisiairport.com. 27 June 2016.
  14. ↑ "New Terminal Opens at Tbilisi International Airport". Georgiatoday.ge. 26 September 2017.
  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. ↑ "Azerbaijan's low-cost Buta Airways launches flights in Tbilisi". agenda.ge. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  18. ↑ Karsaulidze, Eka (20 June 2016). "New Tbilisi-Beijing Flight to Begin in September". Georgia Today. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  19. ↑ "Flydubai launches Tbilisi flights".
  20. 1 2 3 "Saudi Arabia's Flynas launches flights to Tbilisi from June". agenda.ge. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  21. 1 2 Liu, Jim (3 May 2018). "flynas outlines additional new routes in S18". Routesonline. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  22. 1 2 "Georgian Airways to Start Direct Flight to 5 New European Cities in 2018". Georgia Today on the Web. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  23. ↑ "Gruzínsko z Bratislavy - airTiper". airtiper.com. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  24. ↑ Liu, Jim (21 November 2017). "Georgian Airways resumes Kazan route in S18". Routesonline. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  25. 1 2 Liu, Jim (7 September 2018). "Georgian Airways adds new routes in S19". Routesonline. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  26. ↑ "Georgian Airways Destinations". georgian-airways.com/. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  27. ↑ 2018, UBM (UK) Ltd. "Iran Air files network expansion in S18". Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  28. ↑ "Aviation Iran on Twitter". Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  29. ↑ "Kuwait's Jazeera Airways to launch Tbilisi flights in June". Agenda.ge. 19 March 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  30. ↑ Liu, Jim (5 February 2018). "Kuwait Airways adds new destinations in S18". Routesonline. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  31. ↑ "Newest Ath news: My Way and Ryanair.. :: Routesonline". www.routesonline.com. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  32. 1 2 "Myway Airlines expands Eastern Europe service from Oct 2018". routesonline.com. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  33. ↑ "Новая грузинская авиакомпания выполнила первый рейс между Украиной и Грузией". cfts.org.ua. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  34. ↑ שדה, דני (19 June 2018). "שחקנית חדשה בשמי ישראל: תחרות על הקו לגאורגיה". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  35. ↑ Liu, Jim. "Nordavia expands St. Petersburg network in S17". Routesonline. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  36. ↑ "Scheduled Flight Search". Pegasus Airlines. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  37. 1 2 Liu, Jim (14 September 2018). "Pobeda expands Tbilisi network in 4Q18". Routesonline. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  38. 1 2 Liu, Jim (13 August 2018). "Pobeda adds new routes to Tbilisi in W18". Routesonline. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  39. ↑ "Georgia, Tbilisi (TBS) <-> Russia, Novosibirsk, Tolmachevo". S7.ru. S7 Airlines. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  40. ↑ "Scheduled flights from Tbilisi International Airport (TBS)".
  41. ↑ Liu, Jim (2 August 2018). "Tarom adds Odessa / Tbilisi from Sep 2018". Routesonline. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  42. ↑ Liu, Jim (17 July 2018). "Turkish Airlines S19 Short-Haul increases as of 16JUL18". Routesonline. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  43. ↑ Liu, Jim (18 April 2018). "Ural Airlines adds Krasnodar – Tbilisi from late-May 2018". Routesonline. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  44. ↑ "Новый рейс "Уральских авиалиний" Краснодар-Тбилиси-Краснодар – авиакомпания "Уральские авиалинии"". www.uralairlines.ru. JSC Ural Airlines. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  45. ↑ "Tbilisi Airport - Airport Statistics".
  46. ↑ "Scheduled flights from Tbilisi International Airport (TBS)".

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.