Alexander Kartveli Batumi International Airport is an international airport located south of Batumi, a city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. The airport is northeast of Hopa, Turkey, and serves as a domestic and international airport for Georgia. The airport is named after Alexander Kartveli, an aeronautical engineer and aviation pioneer.Batumi airport named after Alexander Kartveli Government of Georgia A sculpture dedicated to Fadiko Gogitidze, Adjara's first woman pilot, is at the entrance.Encyclopaedia Georgia, vol. 2, Tbilisi, 2012., p. 63.
Overview Batumi is one of three international airports in operation in Georgia (along with Tbilisi International Airport serving the Georgian capital and Kutaisi International Airport in Georgia's second largest city Kutaisi). The new airport terminal has been in operation since 26 May 2007. With a total area of , it is capable of handling 600,000 passengers a year.
On 25 October 2000, Il-18 aircraft with registration number RA-74295 crashed into the Mtirala mountain northeast of Batumi during the final approach to the airport. The plane was returning personnel and their relatives to the Russian 12th Military Base in Batumi. All 84 people (73 passengers and 11 crew members) on board were killed. The cause of the disaster was the navigation error of the pilots and the lack of control on the part of air traffic control services.
Batumi International Airport has noted a significant growth in the number of passengers since its renovation in 2007. In 2011, the airport handled 134,000 passengers, an increase of 51% over the previous year.
In 2019, the terminal was expanded because the existing capacities were no longer sufficient. The work was completed in spring 2021. The airport's area was doubled to 8000 square meters, which allows the handling of 1,200,000 passengers a year. Part of the work was to expand the number of bus gates, the check-in area, and passport control counters as well as the expansion of duty-free areas and the car park. Additionally, the luggage handling area was partially expanded, where an automatic conveyor system was introduced and an additional one luggage carousel was installed. A total of US$17 million were invested.
Airlines and destinations
Statistics Annual passenger statistics Batumi International Airport Year Passengers Change 20251,230,20029.3%2024951,76653%2023621,5140.75%2022616,88519.5%2021516,017906%202051,41291.8%2019624,1784.2%2018598,89120.8%2017495,66858.7% 2016 312,343 37.9% 2015 226,476 5.9% 2014 213,439 2.2% 2013 208,977 24.0% 2012 168,510 25.9% 2011 133,852 51.1% 2010 88,562 92.3% 2009 46,044 28.8% 2008 64,656 67.4%
Most popular routes in summer 2021 +CountryDestinationAirportWeekly flightsAirlinesUkraineKyivBoryspil International Airport, Kyiv International Airport21Bees Airline (7 weekly) SkyUp Airlines (7 weekly) Yanair (7 weekly)IsraelTel AvivBen Gurion Airport15Israir (10 weekly); Arkia (3 weekly); El Al/Sundor (2 weekly) Georgian Airways (2 weekly)TurkeyIstanbulIstanbul Airport, Sabiha Gökçen International Airport10Turkish Airlines (7 weekly) Pegasus Airlines (3 weekly)BelarusMinskMinsk National Airport4Belavia (4 weekly)Saudi ArabiaRiyadhKing Khalid International Airport4Flynas (4 weekly)
See also List of the busiest airports in the former Soviet Union List of airports in Georgia Transport in Georgia
References
External links
Accident history for BUS at Aviation Safety Network