Batumi International Airport

Alexander Kartveli Batumi International Airport is an airport located 2 km south of Batumi, a city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. The airport is 20 km northeast of Hopa, Turkey, and serves as a domestic and international airport for Georgia. The airport is named after Alexander Kartveli, an aeronautical engineer and aviation pioneer.

Overview
Batumi is one of three international airports in operation in Georgia (along with Tbilisi International Airport serving the Georgian capital and Kutaisi International Airport in Georgia's second largest city Kutaisi). The new airport terminal has been in operation since 26 May 2007. With a total area of 4256 m2, it is capable of handling 600,000 passengers a year.

On October 25, 2000 when landing at the airport Il-18 aircraft tail number RA-74295 crashed. It was transporting “under the flag” of the 223rd Flight Detachment in joint operation with Aeroflot personnel of the Russian 12th Military Base in Transcaucasia. All 84 people (73 passengers and 11 crew members) on board were killed. The cause of the disaster was the navigation error of the pilots and the lack of control on the part of air traffic control services.

Batumi International Airport has noted a significant growth in the number of passengers since its renovation in 2007. In 2011, the airport handled 134,000 passengers, an increase of 51% over the previous year.

In 2019, the terminal was expanded because the existing capacities were no longer sufficient. The work was completed in spring 2021. The airport's area was doubled to 8000 square meters, which allows the handling of 1,200,000 passengers a year. Part of the work was to expand the number of bus gates, the check-in area, and passport control counters as well as the expansion of duty-free areas and the car park. Additionally, the luggage handling area was partially expanded, where an automatic conveyor system was introduced and an additional one luggage carousel was installed. A total of USD$17 million were invested.