Tbilisi International Airport has launched a major expansion that will double its capacity by the end of the decade. TAV Georgia, which operates both the Tbilisi and Batumi international airports, is investing more than $150 million to raise annual capacity from 5 million to 10 million passengers.
The move responds to a sharp rise in demand. In 2025, the airport served a record 5.4 million passengers, effectively hitting the ceiling of its current design. Running from 2026 to 2028, the project will enlarge the terminal and airfield, modernize the airport's technological and operational systems, and bring passenger services up to international standards. Planned upgrades include doubling the number of boarding bridges to 10, adding seven remote aircraft stands, nine new check-in desks, 24 immigration counters, and two new baggage carousels, along with refurbished passenger areas featuring new retail, dining, and lounge spaces with an emphasis on Georgian cuisine and local products.
The project stems from an agreement signed in January 2025 between TAV Georgia and the state-owned United Airports of Georgia, which extended the company's concession to 2032. The state enterprise has already received a $25 million upfront fee, and its annual revenue from the airport is expected to roughly triple once the work is done.
TAV Georgia, a subsidiary of TAV Airports and part of France's Groupe ADP, has run the two airports for more than two decades and delivered some $250 million in infrastructure projects over that time. It calls the expansion one of the largest investment initiatives in the history of Georgian aviation.