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Kutaisi International Airport

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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 / 42.17639°N 42.48250°E / 42.17639; 42.48250
Websitekutaisi.aero
Map
KUT is located in Georgia
KUT
KUT
Location of airport in Georgia
KUT is located in Imereti
KUT
KUT
KUT (Imereti)
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07/25 2,500 8,202 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Passengers1,671,198
Passenger change 22-23Increase 110%
Source: DAFIF[1][2]

History

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Exterior of Kutaisi International Airport

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 passengers was 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 was planning to add a second base in 2018.

A plan to build a railway station 2 kilometres from the airport to 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] Currently, Tbilisi-Batumi trains stop at the Kopitnari station as well.

Airlines and destinations

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AirlinesDestinations
azimuth Moscow–Vnukovo[14]
Belavia Minsk[15]
FlyArystan Almaty, Aqtau, Astana, Atyrau, Şymkent
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[16]
Vanilla Sky Airlines Mestia[17]
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi,[18] Athens, Barcelona, Beauvais, Berlin, Budapest, Charleroi,[19] Copenhagen,[20] Dortmund, Hahn, Hamburg,[19] Katowice, Kraków, Larnaca, Memmingen,[21] Milan–Malpensa, Poznań,[19] Prague, Riga, Rome–Ciampino, Thessaloniki, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw–Chopin, Wrocław[22]
Seasonal: Tallinn

Statistics

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Terminal exterior at night
 
Check-in desk
 
Garden terrace of the airport terminal

Passenger figures

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Annual passenger statistics Kutaisi International Airport[11]
Year Passengers Change
2023 1,671,198  110%
2022
796,063
   281.78% [23]
2021
282,514
   153.6%
2020
183,873
  0078.9%
2019
873,616
  0041.5%
2018
617,373
  0052.4%
2017
405,173
  0049.3%
2016
271,363
  0048.3%
2015
182,954
  0016.1%
2014
218,003
  0016.0%
2013
187,939
  1,353%
2012
012,932
  0186%
2011
004,527
  0040.3%
2010
007,446
  

Busiest routes

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Top 5 scheduled destinations (2019)[24]
Rank Airport Country Passengers Carriers
1 Warsaw Chopin Airport   Poland 54,722 Wizz Air
2 Vienna International Airport   Austria 52,319
3 Berlin Schönefeld Airport   Germany 50,804
4 Dortmund Airport   Germany 42,339
5 Katowice Airport   Poland 42,081

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Airport information for UGKO[usurped] 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".
  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. ^ a b "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. ^ Liu, Jim (25 September 2024). "Azimuth late-Sep 2024 Caucasus Network Expansion". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Belarus airline Belavia launches Minsk-Kutaisi flights". Agenda.ge. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  16. ^ "Pegasus Adds Istanbul – Kutaisi Service From mid-Dec 2023". AeroRoutes. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Flights to Mestia, Ambrolauri, and Batumi - Schedule and Prices". Mountain Stories. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  18. ^ "Wizz Air Abu Dhabi NS24 A320ceo Operations – 03MAR24". AeroRoutes. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  19. ^ a b c "2023 წლის ივნისიდან Wizz Air ქუთაისის აეროპორტიდან 5 ახალი მიმართულებით იფრენს". 13 December 2022.
  20. ^ "Wizz Air".[full citation needed]
  21. ^ "Wizz Air to station two more airplanes in Kutaisi, add seven more flight destinations". Agenda.ge. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Wizz Air NW24 Network Additions – 14SEP24". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  23. ^ "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.
  24. ^ "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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