MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

Mariam Kvrivishvili, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, opened two new facilities at the Tbilisi International Airport – the updated space of the Primeclass Lounge and the Fast Track in the departure hall. As the Deputy Minister noted, the passenger flow in Georgian airports, including the Tbilisi Airport, is characterized by increasing dynamics, and it is important to develop the appropriate infrastructure.

"In the first quarter of this year, international airports of Georgia served more than 1,5 million passengers. In addition, a historical maximum was recorded in the months of May and June – the Tbilisi International Airport hosted a record number of passengers, which is reflected as an 18%-increase compared to 2019, and a 50% increase compared to June of 2023. This means that the interest in Georgia is growing, new international companies are starting flights to our country, more tourists are arriving and, accordingly, we have more passengers at the airports. Today is a proper example of how to consistently improve the entire infrastructure so that the airport can provide new, important, interesting and good services to the population of our country and the guests who come here" – Mariam Kvrivishvili said.

TAV Georgia, the managing company of the Tbilisi and Batumi International Airports, added new facilities in order to increase the capacity of the airport. The departure hall at Tbilisi Airport was expanded, within the framework of which new spaces were added to the terminal, including the "Fast Track", which was implemented following the cooperation between TAV Operation Service and VISA and, consequently, a Visa Premium card holders will be served there without queuing. The investment cost of the project totalled to 220000 GEL. As a result of the investment, the area of the business lounge was increased by 84%, while the number of passenger seats – by 73%. The Primeclass Lounge project was implemented with an updated design, the total investment was 700000 GEL.

The member of the executive board of the TAV Airports and the Chair of the Executive Committee, Franck Mereyde, the TAV Georgia General Manager, Thea Zakaradze and other officials also attended the opening event.

During the event, the Deputy Minister of Economy emphasized that the aviation sector is one of the most important industries for Georgia, which has a direct effect on the strengthening of the tourism industry. According to Mariam Kvrivishvili, this is why the government of Georgia spends significant time and resources to increase the frequency of flights in the country, to bring in new international companies and, accordingly, to ensure direct flights with strategically important countries for Georgia.

"Direct flights are, of course, directly linked to the growth of tourist flows. Priority markets for us are European countries, Gulf countries, so-called "Distant countries". Based on this strategy, it is very gratifying and important that the number of airlines operating in our country increases every year. Today we can say that as of June 2024, we have a historical maximum in the aviation industry, record numbers in terms of all parameters, including the number of airlines, direct flights and, most importantly, the number of passengers" – the Deputy Minister said.