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
IATA: KUT ICAO: UGKO
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	United Airports of Georgia
Serves	Kutaisi, Georgia
Focus city for	Wizz Air
Elevation AMSL	223 ft / 68 m
Coordinates	42°10′35″N 042°28′57″E
Website	kutaisi.aero
Map
KUT Location of airport in Georgia Show map of Georgia KUT KUT (Imereti) Show map of Imereti
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 07/25 2,500 8,202 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Passengers 1,671,198 Passenger change 22-23 110%
Source: DAFIF[1][2]

History

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

Airlines	Destinations
Belavia	Minsk[14]
FlyArystan	Almaty, Aktau, Astana, Atyrau, Shymkent
Pegasus Airlines	Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[15]
Red Wings Airlines	Kazan,[16] Moscow–Domodedovo, Saint Petersburg,[17] Yekaterinburg[16]
Vanilla Sky Airlines	Mestia[18]
Wizz Air	Abu Dhabi,[19] Athens, Barcelona, Beauvais, Berlin, Budapest, Charleroi,[20] Copenhagen,[21] Dortmund, Hahn, Hamburg,[20] Katowice, Kraków, Larnaca, Memmingen,[22] Milan–Malpensa, Poznań,[20] Prague, Riga, Rome–Ciampino, Thessaloniki, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw–Chopin, Wrocław (resumes 27 October 2024)[23] Seasonal: Tallinn

Statistics

Terminal exterior at night

Check-in desk

Garden terrace of the airport terminal

Passenger figures

Annual passenger statistics Kutaisi International Airport[11]
Year	Passengers	Change
2023	1,671,198	110%
2022	796,063	281.78% [24]
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

Top 5 scheduled destinations (2019)^[25]

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

• List of the busiest airports in the former USSR
• List of airports in Georgia
• Transport in Georgia

References

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. "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. "Pegasus Adds Istanbul – Kutaisi Service From mid-Dec 2023". AeroRoutes. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
16. "Российская Red Wings планирует выполнять в Грузию 23 рейса в неделю". Эхо Кавказа (in Russian). 27 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
17. "Red Wings Adds St. Petersburg – Kutaisi Service in NS24". AeroRoutes. 6 March 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
18. "Flights to Mestia, Ambrolauri, and Batumi - Schedule and Prices". Mountain Stories. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
19. "Wizz Air Abu Dhabi NS24 A320ceo Operations – 03MAR24". AeroRoutes. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
20. "2023 წლის ივნისიდან Wizz Air ქუთაისის აეროპორტიდან 5 ახალი მიმართულებით იფრენს". 13 December 2022.
21. "Wizz Air".^{[full citation needed]}
22. "Wizz Air to station two more airplanes in Kutaisi, add seven more flight destinations". Agenda.ge. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
23. "Wizz Air NW24 Network Additions – 14SEP24". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
24. "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.
25. "2019 წელს, ქუთაისის საერთაშორისო აეროპორტიდან ყველაზე პოპულარული მიმართულება ვარშავა იყო". Avianews.ge (in Georgian). www.Avianews.ge. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.

External links

Media related to David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website (in English and Georgian)
• Current weather for UGKO at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for KUT at Aviation Safety Network