Civil aviation agency summarizes 2019 activities

Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Natia Turnava congratulated the representatives of the Georgian aviation sector on the Professional Day. At the Radisson Hotel, the Minister spoke about the special role of aviation in the development of the country's economy and said that many of the sectors the country is proud of are based on successful civil aviation activities.

According to Turnava, the fact that the tourism sector has developed significantly, the development of the business platform in Georgia is based on the success of aviation.

The Minister also spoke about the challenges of the sector. According to her, in 2018 Georgia's airports served more than 5 million passengers, and this year, despite stopping flights from Russia, in 11 months of preliminary data, the airports served more than 4.8 million people.

"According to this indicator, despite the challenges, there will not be fewer passengers this year than it was in 2018," said Turnava.

"In the last 3 years, about 25 new airlines have entered the Georgian market, which means new tourists, new opportunities, but this is an additional challenge for airlines, as demand for international standards on land and air is increasing," said the minister. She also talked about the projects implemented by the companies, SAKAERONAVIGATSIA, United Airports of Georgia, Georgian Civil Aviation Agency.

The Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development particularly emphasized the appointment of Levan Karanadze as the Vice-President of the ICAO Assembly and the Governing Council of EUROCONTROL. According to her, this is also a recognition of Georgia's civil aviation sector reform, as it is the first time in history that Georgian representative has become such a high-profile elected official.

“In the last few years, the quality of our compliance with the world's aviation safety monitoring indicators has practically doubled. As of 2013, we only met 32 percent of our flight safety standards and monitoring requirements, and now we have reached 88 percent. It's been a leap for five years, but we have very ambitious plans ahead,” noted Turnava.

Levan Karanadze, Head of the Civil Aviation Agency presented the sector's current report and future projects at the event dedicated to the Georgian Aviation Day.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Director of the Civil Aviation Agency generally reviewed the development trends of the Georgian aviation market and the advantages of the industry.

Karanadze drew attention to the entry of the airlines in Georgia such as Ryanair and Air France and noted that the operation of leading brands, along with simplification of movement, significantly increases the level of popularity of Georgia in the world and in aviation circles.

The head of the agency positively assessed the fact that along with "Wizz Air" and "Turkish Airlines", Georgian Airways holds one of the leading positions in the market ("Wizz Air" -16%, "Turkish Airlines" -11%, "Georgian Airways" -10%). According to Levan Karanadze, the successful functioning of the national airline is important for the further development of the sector and the training of professional staff.

The event was attended by representatives of the Georgian aviation industry, including carriers, airports and other transport companies.