Batumi International Airport

Alexander Kartveli Batumi International Airport (IATA: BUS, ICAO: UGSB) is an airport located 2 km (1.2 mi) south of Batumi, a city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. The airport is 20 km (12 mi) 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] A sculpture dedicated to Fadiko Gogitidze, Adjara's first woman pilot, is at the entrance.^[4]

Alexander Kartveli Batumi International Airport ბათუმის ალექსანდრე ქართველის სახელობის საერთაშორისო აეროპორტი
IATA: BUS ICAO: UGSB
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	TAV Airports Holding
Serves	Batumi, Georgia
Location	Batumi, Adjara, Georgia
Focus city for	Georgian Airways
Elevation AMSL	37 ft / 11 m
Coordinates	41°36′37″N 41°35′58″E
Website	www.batumiairport.com
Map
BUS Location of Batumi Airport Show map of Georgia BUS BUS (Turkey) Show map of Turkey BUS BUS (Black Sea) Show map of Black Sea
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 13/31 2,500 8,202 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Passengers 621,514 Passenger change 22-23 0.75%
Source: DoD FLIP,[1] AIP Georgia at EUROCONTROL[2]

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 4,256 square metres (45,810 sq ft), it is capable of handling 600,000 passengers a year.^[5]

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.^[6] 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.^[7]

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.^[5]

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.

Airlines and destinations

Batumi Airport

Airlines	Destinations
Air Astana	Seasonal: Almaty, Astana[8]
Air Baltic	Seasonal: Riga[9]
Arkia	Seasonal: Tel Aviv[10]
Armenian Airlines	Seasonal: Yerevan (suspended)[11]
Azerbaijan Airlines	Baku[12]
Azimuth	Mineralnye Vody,[13] Moscow–Vnukovo[14]
Belavia	Minsk
Flyadeal	Seasonal: Riyadh
Flydubai	Seasonal: Dubai–International[15]
Fly Khiva	Tashkent (begins 29 May 2025)[16]
Flynas	Seasonal: Dammam, Jeddah,[17] Riyadh
GetJet Airlines	Seasonal charter: Vilnius[18]
Iran Aseman Airlines	Seasonal: Tehran–Imam Khomeini
Israir	Seasonal: Tel Aviv[19]
Jazeera Airways	Seasonal: Kuwait City (resumes 27 May 2025)[20]
Jordan Aviation	Amman[21]
Pegasus Airlines	Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[22]
Qeshm Air	Seasonal: Tehran–Imam Khomeini
Red Wings Airlines	Kazan, Moscow–Domodedovo,[23] Moscow–Zhukovsky, Nizhny Novgorod,[24] Saint Petersburg,[25] Samara,[26] Ufa,[27] Yekaterinburg[28]
Saudia	Seasonal: Riyadh
SCAT Airlines	Seasonal: Astana[29]
SmartLynx Airlines	Seasonal charter: Tallinn[18]
Sundor	Seasonal: Tel Aviv
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul[30]
Uzbekistan Airways	Seasonal: Tashkent[8][31]
Vanilla Sky Airlines	Natakhtari[32][33]
Varesh Airlines	Seasonal: Tehran–Imam Khomeini
Zagros Airlines	Seasonal: Tehran–Imam Khomeini

Statistics

Annual passenger statistics Batumi International Airport[34]
Year	Passengers	Change	Annual passenger traffic at BUS airport. See Wikidata query.
2024	951,766	53%
2023	621,514	0.75%
2022	616,885[35]	19.5%
2021	516,017	906%
2020	51,412	91.8%
2019	624,178	04.2%
2018	598,891	20.8%
2017	495,668	58.7%
2016	312,343	37.9%
2015	226,476	05.9%
2014	213,439	02.2%
2013	208,977	24.0%
2012	168,510	25.9%
2011	133,852	51.1%
2010	088,562	92.3%
2009	046,044	28.8%
2008	064,656	67.4%

Most popular routes in summer 2021

Country	Destination	Airport	Weekly flights[36]	Airlines
Ukraine	Kyiv	Boryspil International Airport, Kyiv International Airport	21	Bees Airline (7 weekly) SkyUp Airlines (7 weekly) Yanair (7 weekly)
Israel	Tel Aviv	Ben Gurion Airport	15	Israir (10 weekly); Arkia (3 weekly); El Al/Sundor (2 weekly) Georgian Airways (2 weekly)
Turkey	Istanbul	Istanbul Airport, Sabiha Gökçen International Airport	10	Turkish Airlines (7 weekly) Pegasus Airlines (3 weekly)
Belarus	Minsk	Minsk National Airport	4	Belavia (4 weekly)
Saudi Arabia	Riyadh	King Khalid International Airport	4	Flynas (4 weekly)

See also

• List of the busiest airports in the former Soviet Union
• List of airports in Georgia
• Transport in Georgia