Kutaisi International Airport

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 the country 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]

Kutaisi International Airport

ქუთაისის საერთაშორისო აეროპორტი
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorUnited Airports of Georgia
ServesKutaisi, Georgia
Focus city forWizz Air
Elevation AMSL223 ft / 68 m
Coordinates42°10′35″N 042°28′57″E
Websitekutaisi.aero
Map
KUT is located in Georgia
KUT
KUT
Location of airport in Georgia
KUT is located in Imereti
KUT
KUT
KUT (Imereti)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07/25 2,500 8,202 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Passengers796,063
Passenger change 21-22Increase281.78%
Source: DAFIF[1][2]
Check-in desk

History

The airport was closed for renovation in November 2011. Its reopening ceremony was held on 27 September 2012. The ceremony was attended by President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán[5] and Wizz Air CEO József Váradi.[6]

To prepare 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 buses operated by Georgian Bus[8] and Omnibus Express [9] , 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 also possible to transfer to those cities by marshrutka.[10]

The priority of Kutaisi airport is to attract low-cost airlines. A significant growth in the number of passengerwas noted soon after the reopening of the airport in 2012, mainly due to Wizz Air's operations linking Kutaisi with European airports. The airport reported 187,939 passengers in 2013,[11] 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[12] as the airport is expecting 1 million passengers in 2020. A plan to build a railway station in the vicinity of the airport which would connect the airport to Tbilisi, Batumi and any other cities of Georgia served by Georgian Railways was announced in 2018.[12] In April 2022, the modernization of the Kopitnari station was finished.[13]

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Belavia Minsk[14]
FlyArystan Aktau, Almaty, Astana, Atyrau, Şymkent
Red Wings Airlines Moscow–Domodedovo
Vanilla Sky Airlines Mestia[15]
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi,[16] Athens, Barcelona, Beauvais, Berlin, Budapest, Charleroi,[17] Cologne,[18] Copenhagen (begins 1 December 2023),[19] Dortmund, Gdańsk, Hahn, Hamburg,[17] Katowice, Kraków, Larnaca, Madrid,[17] Memmingen,[20] Milan–Malpensa, Poznań,[17] Prague, Riga, Rome–Fiumicino, Tallinn, Thessaloniki, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw–Chopin, Wrocław

Statistics

Passenger figures
Annual passenger statistics Kutaisi International Airport[11]
YearPassengersChange
Annual passenger traffic at KUT airport. See Wikidata query.
2022
796,063
[21]		Increase 281.78%
2021
282,514
Increase 153.6%
2020
183,873
Decrease0078.9%
2019
873,616
Increase0041.5%
2018
617,373
Increase0052.4%
2017
405,173
Increase0049.3%
2016
271,363
Increase0048.3%
2015
182,954
Decrease0016.1%
2014
218,003
Increase0016.0%
2013
187,939
Increase1,353%
2012
012,932
Increase0186%
2011
004,527
Decrease0040.3%
2010
007,446
Steady

Busiest routes
Top 5 scheduled destinations (2019)[22]
Rank Airport Passengers Carriers
1 Warsaw Chopin Airport 54,722 Wizz Air
2 Vienna International Airport 52,319
3 Berlin Schönefeld Airport 50,804
4 Dortmund Airport 42,339
5 Katowice Airport 42,081

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 Archived 5 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine (retrieved 1 September 2013)
  8. "Georgian Bus". georgianbus.com. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  9. "Omnibus Express". omnibusexpress.ge. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  10. Jennings, Michael (16 February 2013). "Kutaisi Public Transport Information". Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  11. "Number of Passengers Served Kutaisi International Airport". gcaa.ge. Civil Aviation Agency of Georgia. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  12. "Construction of New Terminal at Kutaisi International Airport to Start in August". Georgia Today. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  13. "Renovated railway station to connect passengers to Kutaisi airport in Georgia's west". Agenda.ge. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  14. "Belarus airline Belavia launches Minsk-Kutaisi flights". Agenda.ge. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  15. "Flights to Mestia, Ambrolauri, and Batumi - Schedule and Prices". Mountain Stories. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  16. "Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Berlin, Vienna: New and restored flights from Georgian western Kutaisi airport". Agenda.ge. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  17. "2023 წლის ივნისიდან Wizz Air ქუთაისის აეროპორტიდან 5 ახალი მიმართულებით იფრენს". 13 December 2022.
  18. "WIZZ AIR NW23 NETWORK CHANGES". AeroRoutes. 12 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  19. https://wizzair.com/#/
  20. "Wizz Air to station two more airplanes in Kutaisi, add seven more flight destinations". Agenda.ge. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  21. "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)". Georgian Civil Aviation Authority. 16 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  22. "2019 წელს, ქუთაისის საერთაშორისო აეროპორტიდან ყველაზე პოპულარული მიმართულება ვარშავა იყო". Avianews.ge (in Georgian). www.Avianews.ge. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.

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