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 the second busiest airport in Georgia with 1,7 million passengers passing through it in 2024, a 3% increase compared with the previous year. 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 (2024)
Passengers 1,722,809 Passenger change 23-24 3%
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
Azimuth	Moscow–Vnukovo[14]
Belavia	Minsk[15]
Electra Airways	Seasonal charter: Katowice
FlyArystan	Almaty, Aqtau, Astana, Atyrau Seasonal: Şymkent[16]
Pegasus Airlines	Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[17]
Red Wings Airlines	Moscow–Zhukovsky[18]
Smartwings	Seasonal charter: Warsaw–Chopin[19]
Vanilla Sky Airlines	Mestia[20]
Wizz Air	Abu Dhabi (ends 31 August 2025),[21][22] Athens, Barcelona, Beauvais, Berlin, Budapest, Charleroi,[23] Dortmund, Hahn, Hamburg,[24] Katowice, Larnaca, Lyon,[25] Madrid,[24] Memmingen,[26] Milan–Malpensa, Poznań,[23] Prague, Rome–Ciampino, Thessaloniki, Venice (2 December 2025),[27] Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw–Chopin, Wrocław[28]

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
2024	1,722,809[29]	0003%
2023	1,671,198	0110%
2022	00796,063[30]	0282%
2021	282,514	0154%
2020	183,873	0079%
2019	873,616	0042%
2018	617,373	0052%
2017	405,173	0049%
2016	271,363	0048%
2015	182,954	0016%
2014	218,003	0016%
2013	187,939	1,353%
2012	012,932	0186%
2011	004,527	0040%
2010	007,446

Busiest routes

Top 5 scheduled destinations (2019)^[31]

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