David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport


Kutaisi International Airport also known as David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport is an airport located 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.

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 and Wizz Air CEO József Váradi.
For preparation works, for the commissioning of the airport and training of staff, the French company Vinci Airports was contracted. 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. 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.
The priority of Kutaisi airport is to attract low-cost airlines. A significant growth in the number of passenger has been noted soon after the reopening of the airport in 2012, mainly due to operations linking Kutaisi with European airports. For 2013, the operator reported 187,939 passengers. In February 2016, Wizz Air announced a new base at Kutaisi Airport and is planning to add a second base in 2018.
Currently, major expansion works of the airport are underway as the airport is expecting 1 million passengers in 2020. Also, a railway station is being built in the vicinity of the airport which will connect the airport to Tbilisi, Batumi and any other cities of Georgia served by Georgian Railways.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Annual passenger

Routes