New air routes strengthen Tbilisi’s role as regional transit hub, Georgian aviation official

Every new international air route creates additional opportunities to attract transit traffic and strengthen Tbilisi’s position as a regional aviation hub, Aleksandre Gachechiladze, deputy head of Georgia’s Civil Aviation Agency, said on Wednesday.

Commenting on the launch of direct flights between Tbilisi and Shanghai, Gachechiladze said Shanghai’s large population made the route a significant opportunity for expanding passenger traffic.

“Tbilisi International Airport is already developing into a logistics hub to a certain extent. As for passenger transport, the state is doing everything possible to create the conditions for further growth,” he said.

Gachechiladze added Georgia was signing liberal air services agreements with other countries, allowing both Georgian and foreign airlines to launch flights with unrestricted frequencies and destinations.

He further noted that it was now up to Georgian airlines to take advantage of those opportunities through their commercial strategies.

Gachechiladze said every new route generated broad economic benefits by boosting tourism, increasing revenue for airports and air navigation services, and creating additional business for aviation fuel suppliers, aircraft maintenance providers and other companies involved in the aviation sector.