Batumi International Airport Explained

Alexander Kartveli Batumi International Airport
Nativename:ბათუმის ალექსანდრე ქართველის სახელობის საერთაშორისო აეროპორტი
Image2-Width:250
Iata:BUS
Icao:UGSB
Pushpin Map:Georgia#Turkey#Black Sea
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Pushpin Mark:Airplane_silhouette.svg
Pushpin Label:BUS
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Batumi Airport
Type:Public
Operator:TAV Airports Holding
City-Served: Batumi, Georgia
Location:Batumi, Georgia
Focus City:Georgian Airways
Elevation-F:37
Coordinates:41.6103°N 41.5994°W
Metric-Rwy:y
R1-Number:13/31
R1-Length-M:2500
R1-Length-F:8202
R1-Surface:Asphalt
Stat-Year:2023
Stat1-Header:Passengers
Stat1-Data:621,514
Stat2-Header:Passenger change 22-23
Stat2-Data: 0.75%
Footnotes:Source: DoD FLIP,[1] AIP Georgia at EUROCONTROL[2]

Alexander Kartveli Batumi International Airport is an airport located 2km (01miles) south of Batumi, a city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. The airport is 20km (10miles) 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.[3]

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.[4]

On October 25, 2000 when landing at the airport Il-18 aircraft tail number RA-74295 crashed. It was transporting “under the flag” of the 223rd Flight Detachment in joint operation with Aeroflot personnel of the Russian 12th Military Base in Transcaucasia. 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.[5]

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.[4]

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 USD$17 million were invested.

Statistics

Annual passenger statistics Batumi International Airport[6]
Year Passengers Change
2023621,5140.75%
2022616,885[7] 19.5%
2021516,017906%
202051,41291.8%
2019624,1784.2%
2018598,89120.8%
2017495,66858.7%
2016312,343 37.9%
2015226,476 5.9%
2014213,439 2.2%
2013208,977 24.0%
2012168,510 25.9%
2011133,852 51.1%
201088,562 92.3%
200946,044 28.8%
200864,656 67.4%

Most popular routes in summer 2021

!Country!Destination!Airport!Weekly flights[8] !Airlines
UkraineKyivBoryspil 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/Sun d'Or (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

Notes and References

  1. Book: DoD Flight Information Publication (Terminal) - High and Low Altitude Eastern Europe and Asia. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2020. St. Louis, Missouri.
  2. Web site: EAD Basic. registration. live. 2021-08-31. European AIS Database. EUROCONTROL. https://web.archive.org/web/20181102060827/https://www.ead.eurocontrol.int/fwf-eadbasic/public/cms/cmscontent.faces?configKey=default.home.page . 2 November 2018 .
  3. http://gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=GEO&sec_id=406&info_id=51191 Batumi airport named after Alexander Kartveli
  4. Web site: Batumi Airport. https://web.archive.org/web/20201205075157/http://www.batumiairport.com/en-EN/Airlines/Documents/Georgia%20Airport%20Profile.pdf . 5 December 2020 .
  5. Web site: Il disaster-18D near Batumi . 2013-01-19 . 14 March 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130314192926/http://war.airdisaster/ . live .
  6. Web site: Number of Passengers Served Batumi Airport . gcaa.ge . Civil Aviation Agency of Georgia. 2022-02-09 .
  7. Web site: January 16, 2023 . According to total data for 2022, the number of flights recovered to the level of 88% from pre-Covid levels, whereas passenger count - to the level of 85% (in Georgian) . January 18, 2023 . Georgian Civil Aviation Authority.
  8. Web site: International passenger flights from Batumi Airport. 15 January 2019. 27 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201027114921/http://gcaa.ge/eng/batumiout.php. dead.