Mariam Kvrivishvili: “Passenger traffic at airports has increased by 30%.”
Verdict: FactCheck concludes that Mariam Kvrivishvili’s statement is TRUE.
Passenger traffic at all three airports in Georgia experienced a double-digit percentage growth from January to June 2024 as compared to both the previous year and 2019. Passenger traffic totalled 3.2 million in the first half of 2024, surpassing the figures from the previous year by 736,000, or 30%. A nearly similar growth rate is observed when comparing the aforementioned figure to the January-June period of 2019.
Furthermore, the number of completed air journeys and airspace usage (number of overflights) have also increased in addition to passenger traffic.
Considering the accuracy of data, FactCheck concludes that Mariam Kvrivishvili’s statement is TRUE.
Analysis
The Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Mariam Kvrivishvili, stated: “The airports in Georgia served 3,220,599 passengers on regular and non-regular flights, marking a 30% increase as compared to the analogous period in 2023.”
Three international airports exist in Georgia, as of now: Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi.
The Tbilisi International Airport served 2.1 million passengers from January to June in 2024, marking a 36% rise as compared to the same period in the previous year and a 14% increase as compared to the first half of 2019 according to the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency.
Furthermore, passenger traffic at the Kutaisi International Airport constituted 746,000, representing an annual increase of 12% and double the pre-pandemic figures.
The Batumi International Airport handled 334,000 passengers, suggesting a 41% increase. Additionally, the aforementioned figure exceeds the 2019 data by 34%.
Graph 1: Passenger Traffic at Airports (Thousand Passengers)
Source: Georgian Civil Aviation Agency
All three airports together handled 3.2 million passengers, representing an annual growth of 30% and a 29% increase when compared to the pre-pandemic figures.
Notably, the growth rates at Tbilisi and Kutaisi airports from January to June have exceeded those of 2023 more substantially than those of 2019. Whilst the pre-pandemic traffic figures had not yet been reached in the first half of 2023, this was not just due to COVID-19. Russia had halted direct flights to Georgia in July 2019, lifting the restriction only in May 2023. Consequently, the Tbilisi Airport saw a decline of 117,000 passengers in 2019 despite a 195,000 increase observed in the first two quarters of that year.
The statistics of the Local Mestia and Ambrolauri Airports were not cited, unlike previous years, in the Facebook post of the Civil Aviation Agency. Furthermore, only the annual traffic data is available on the website.
In addition to a surge in passenger traffic, the number of completed flights performed throughout the year rose by 33%, reaching 14,700. Additionally, airspace usage saw a 30% increase, totalling 130,000 overflights. Notably, the number of overflights has doubled as compared to the pre-pandemic rates.
Georgia served a total of 2.1 million tourists in the first half of the current year, reflecting a 10% increase. Tourism revenue has reached USD 1.9 billion – a figure 5.2% higher than that of the previous year.
Considering the accuracy of data, FactCheck concludes that Mariam Kvrivishvili’s statement is TRUE.
