Tbilisi International Airport

Georgia’s aviation market expanding with Government interest

Georgia’s aviation market is expanding with the help of a proactive Georgian Government, which is seeking to transform the country into a regional transportation hub. In 2012 the small country has seen not only increased services from European carriers, but from carriers further afield in Asia and the Middle East. Georgia’s home-based aviation market is also set to expand with the launch of two new airlines, FlyGeorgia and Air Caucasus, in 2012.

The Georgian Government is showing much more interest in its national aviation industry having made recent commitments to turning the country into a regional transportation hub. Georgia, which is strategically located at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, has a number of infrastructure projects under way which will see a network of modern airports built.

The Government has also made changes to the Air Code of Georgia in order to introduce greater regulation. Changes include the introduction of new standard working and flying times as well as requirements for fuel, maintenance and technical staff to be certified. The Georgian Civil Aviation Agency took comments made by ICAO auditors in 2007 into account during its work on the bill.

Middle Eastern LCCs driving growth into Eastern Europe, Russia and CIS

Russia, the CIS nations and Central and Eastern Europe have been receiving a great deal of attention from Middle East-based carriers in recent months. Full service and low-cost carriers have announced or added a flurry of routes into Eastern European destinations over the past few weeks. Airlines in the Middle East are looking to tap into the underserved region, which is still showing strong economic growth despite troubles in several European markets and strong growth in business and tourism traffic.

Homegrown LCCs Air Arabia and flydubai are leading a push into the regions, but so too is Qatar Airways. Additionally, Oman Air plans to launch services to Moscow. While Middle Eastern carriers have long dominated traffic into western Europe, they now comprise the majority of traffic between the Middle East and central Europe, eastern Europe, Russia and CIS.