Ladies and gentlemen, this is the ship’s captain speaking again. Our flight continues, with an altitude of 9,500 meters and a speed of 800 kilometers per hour. We will soon arrive in Tbilisi at Shota Rustaveli Airport, with a time difference of plus one hour. Thank you for your attention!
Since we’re discussing this airport, let me give you some details about it.
Shota Rustaveli Airport is rightfully called “the main air gateway of Georgia,” serving 3 million passengers per year and hosting over 30 international airlines on its territory.
So where did it all start for this airport? In 1952, the first flight facility was built near Georgia’s capital, designed by architect Vakhtang Beridze. During the 1980s, the airport was ranked as the 12th largest in the USSR, serving passengers on central routes connecting Tbilisi with other cities of the Soviet republics. The airport building has undergone several renovations: in 1990 and 2007. And the building that we can see now appeared as part of the reconstruction of 2007. A new international terminal and railway station were added to the 25,000 sq. m. complex. In 2015, it was renamed after the 12th-century Georgian statesman and poet Shota Rustaveli.
For three years (from 2014 to 2016), the airport was among the seven best in Eastern Europe. And in 2017, it even made it into the top six! Although Tbilisi airport is not that large in area, the number of passengers passing through it has been growing rapidly in recent years. The airport has two runways and a modern terminal building with waiting rooms, cafés, restaurants, bank branches, and a medical center.
The distance from the airport to Tbilisi is 15 kilometers, and there are many ways to get to the city. And ever since the railway station was built in 2007, you can get to Tbilisi by train. High-speed trains run between the airport and Tbilisi Central Station. The train runs twice a day — in the morning and in the evening.
Every year the airport is getting better and better — and all the effort seems to be paying off. After all, the best airports are chosen by polls, and the fourth year of being in the top indicates that the “main air gateway of Georgia” meets the needs of the most demanding passengers.
Alright then! Our journey continues, and there are many more interesting facts to come!