Passenger flow in Georgian airports down 3 per cent in January

Georgian airports served 314,079 passengers in January 2020 in total, which is a three per cent decrease compared to the same period of last year, United Airports of Georgia reports.

While Kutaisi and Batumi international airports experienced an increase in passenger flow, Tbilisi International Airport actually experienced a decrease. The reason is the Russian flight ban to and from Georgia which came into force on July 8, 2019 and the suspension of direct flights from and to China related to avoiding the spread of the  coronavirus. 

In January 2020, Georgian international airports served:

• Tbilisi International Airport – 211,590 passengers (-16 per cent)
• Kutaisi International Airport - 79,759 passengers (43 per cent)
• Batumi International Airport – 22,001 passengers (38 per cent)

As for local airports of Georgia, in January 2020 Mestia and Ambrolauri airports served 729 passengers in total which is 44 per cent more compared to last year.

In January 2020 local airports served:

• Mestia Airport – 641 passengers (60 per cent)
• Ambrolauri Airport - 88 (-18 per cent)

The decrease of passenger flow was recorded in Ambrolauri Airport due to suspension of flights as the result of bad weather. In January 2020, only seven fights were carried out on the route Natakhtari-Ambrolauri-Natakhtari which is 22 per cent less compared to January 2019.