MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Natia Turnava congratulated the representatives of the Georgian aviation sector on the professional day. At the Radisson Hotel, the Minister spoke about the special role of the aviation sector in the development of the country’s economy and said that progress in many other sectors is based on the successful civil aviation activities.

“When we say that we have become a tourist country and proud of the fact that we receive three times as many tourists as our population this year – that is all your merit. When we say that Georgia has become one of the attractive platforms for international business and many foreign businesspersons are arriving on business trips, it is also your merit. Today’s international business requests agility, security and ease of communication. Therefore, you are the people we are proud of and who should always be our priority, because safe civil aviation that meets international standards is our face, our present and our future,” – Natia Turnava said.

The Minister also spoke about the challenges of the sector and noted that in 2018, Georgia’s airports served over 5 million passengers, and preliminary data reveals that despite canceled flights from Russia, 11 months of this year, the airports received over 4 800 000 passengers. “According to this indicator, despite the challenges, the number of the passengers served at the airports will not be less than of the previous years,” – Natia Turnava said.

“In last 3 years, about 25 new airlines have entered the Georgian market, which means attraction of new tourists, creation of new opportunities, but this is an additional challenge for airlines, as demand for the international standards on land and air transportation is getting stricter,” – the Minister said. The Minister also listed the projects by the SAKAERONAVIGATSIA Ltd., United Airports of Georgia and the Civil Aviation Agency implemented in order to develop Georgia’s civil aviation.

The Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development particularly emphasized the appointment of Levan Karanadze at the position of the Vice-President of the ICAO Assembly and the Governing Council of EUROCONTROL and noted that this is also a recognition of the Georgia’s civil aviation sector since it is the first when Georgia became such a high-profile elected official.

“During the last few years, our compliance with the global aviation safety monitoring indicators has practically been increased twice. As of 2013, we only met only 32% percent of flight safety standards and monitoring requirements, and now we have reached 88% compliance. This is a huge leap but we have even more ambitious plans ahead,” – Natia Turnava said.

Levan Karanadze, the Head of the Civil Aviation Agency presented the report on the current situation in the sector and represented scheduled projects at the event dedicated to the Georgian Aviation Day. Representatives of the Georgian aviation industry, including carriers, airport representatives and other transportation companies also attended the event.