MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

“Georgian Civil Aviation is the regional leader adhering international standards of flight safety and security and it is among the top ten countries in Europe,” - the Director of the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency, Levan Karanadze said following  the discussions on the results achieved in 2019 and upcoming 2020 projects at the meeting at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia led by the Minister Natia Turnava. The Deputy Minister Akaki Saghirashvili also attended the presentation.

According to Levan Karanadze, at the end of 2019, 32 passenger airlines, including 30 foreign ones and 3 freight airlines, were presented in the Georgian Civil Aviation market. During the same period, flights were performed from Georgia to 74 international destinations in 36 nations, including 20 European countries, with an average of 340 weekly flights around the world. The Director of the Civil Aviation Agency also demonstrated the positive dynamics of passengers transported by Georgian airports. That is upward, and in 2019, despite the suspension of flights from Russia in 2019, Georgia's airports served more passengers than in 2018. According to Levan Karanadze, the increase in the flights was 3.5 percent. As per the results of 2019, the passenger traffic growth at Kutaisi International Airport was more than 41 percent and 4 percent - in Batumi.

The Director of the Civil Aviation Agency stated that the quality of flight safety and supervision has increased significantly. He said that Georgia’s compliance with the worldwide aviation safety oversight indicators has improved (from 32% to 88%) significantly in recent years. The Civil Aviation Agency has been awarded special certificates by the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) Board President for carrying important reforms in the flight safety and aviation security oversight and for the high results achieved.

Levan Karanadze said that the reforms in the Georgian civil aviation sector will continue; the Agency also plans to introduce noise requirements for foreign aircraft to the Georgian airports. The rule aims to minimize the level of noise caused while operating aircraft at the Georgian airports. It is also planned, according to the relevant European regulations, to adopt the rule for certification of air traffic supervisors ensuring the full compliance of the Georgian certificates with the EU standards. New requirements for supervisor qualifications and their working process will be established.

“The safe and smooth operation of civil aviation is essential for the successful functioning of various economic sectors and, above all, tourism. We are closely watching the reforms going on in this area. Continuation of the process of introducing the international flight rules will attract more successful international airlines to the Georgian air market, which, in turn, will be reflected in the increased dynamics of flight geography. Our goal is to make Georgia a transit country in the civil aviation sector, which has great potential. We also believe that we have a good opportunity to increase shipping rates, which is tradable in both local and international markets,” – the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Natia Turnava said. According to her, it is also important that the Civil Aviation Administration makes effective decisions to develop a network of small aviation and airports in the country.