How to Get to Georgia: Flights to Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi

Direct routes to Tbilisi

69

Istanbul to Tbilisi

2h 25m

Wizz Air cities to Kutaisi

24

Kutaisi Airport to Tbilisi

3.5 h

There are no direct flights to Georgia from the Americas, Australia or East Asia beyond a couple of Chinese cities, and the country sits just far enough from Western Europe that airlines treat it as a niche route. That's the whole problem. The answer is almost always a single connection, and the choice of where to connect and where to land decides how much you pay and how tired you are when you arrive.

This guide covers the flight. For what to do once you're through passport control, our Tbilisi Airport to city guide has the bus, Bolt and transfer detail, and the visa and entry guide covers who gets in without paperwork (most people, for a year).

The three airports

Georgia's airports split neatly by who uses them.

The short version: if you're coming for Tbilisi, Kakheti, Kazbegi or a general first trip, fly to Tbilisi. If price matters more than convenience and you're starting in Europe, look at Wizz Air into Kutaisi, which also puts you closer to the coast, the caves and Svaneti. Fly into Batumi only if your trip is the Black Sea coast or you're already connecting through Istanbul in summer.

Via Istanbul: the route most people take

Istanbul is 2 hours 25 minutes from Tbilisi, and the two Istanbul airports between them send around ten flights a day to Georgia's capital. From anywhere Turkish Airlines flies, which is more countries than any other airline, that makes Istanbul the natural connection.

Pegasus is the budget version of the same idea. It's cheaper on many dates, but it uses Sabiha Gökçen, which is a long way from Istanbul Airport, so you can't combine a Turkish Airlines long-haul with a Pegasus hop to Tbilisi without changing airports. Book Pegasus when the whole trip is on Pegasus, or when you're starting from somewhere Pegasus flies to directly.

Both airports also give you the option of a stopover. Turkish Airlines' stopover programme and Istanbul's visa rules change often enough that we won't quote them; check the airline's site for the current terms if a day or two in Istanbul appeals.

Direct flights from Europe

This has changed a lot since 2024. British Airways, easyJet, Norwegian, Condor, Edelweiss and Transavia all started flying to Tbilisi in 2025 or 2026, which means a direct flight now exists from most of the big Western European cities. The catch is frequency: outside Munich, Warsaw and London, most of these run two or three times a week, and several are summer-only.

Frequencies are from the September 2026 schedules; airlines add and drop these routes every season, so treat the table as a map of who to check, not a timetable. Two things to know about the smaller carriers. Georgian Airways is the flag carrier and flies a mixed fleet on its European routes, but with two or three flights a week a cancellation costs you days, not hours, so build in slack if you're on a fixed schedule. And Norwegian's Copenhagen route launched as a summer service on 27 June 2026; it was in the schedule through October when we checked, but confirm it exists for your dates before you plan a winter trip around it.

Wizz Air into Kutaisi: the budget route

Wizz Air is the reason Kutaisi has an international airport worth the name. In September 2026 it connects Kutaisi with 24 cities: Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Bratislava, Budapest, Dortmund, Hamburg, Frankfurt Hahn, Katowice, Larnaca, Lyon, Madrid, Memmingen, Milan Malpensa, Paris Beauvais, Poznań, Prague, Rome, Thessaloniki, Venice, Vilnius, Warsaw, Wrocław and Brussels Charleroi. Most run a few times a week rather than daily; Warsaw is the exception with a flight every day.

The fares are the point. When we looked on wizzair.com on 5 September 2026, one-way lead fares from Kutaisi started at 65 GEL (about $25) to Larnaca, 74 GEL to Athens, 99 GEL to Milan, 146 GEL to Prague and Budapest, and 209 GEL (about $80) to Paris Beauvais. Fares in the other direction are similar in the low season and rise steeply for July, August and the New Year holidays.

What the cheap fare does and doesn't include

The lead fare buys a seat and one small bag that fits under the seat in front (40 by 30 by 20 cm). A cabin bag for the overhead locker (55 by 40 by 23 cm, up to 10 kg) needs WIZZ Priority, which cost roughly €10 to €59 online per flight in 2026 and much more at the airport; checked bags are extra again. For a week in Georgia with a proper backpack, expect to add €30 to €80 each way in bags and seats, and compare the total against a Pegasus or Turkish Airlines fare into Tbilisi before you decide. Wizz Air's cheap seats are genuinely cheap; the airline's whole business is making sure most people don't fly on them. Our packing guide is written for exactly this carry-on-only trip.

Getting on from Kutaisi Airport

The airport is small, in the countryside 14 km west of Kutaisi and about 250 km from Tbilisi, and it works because of the coaches outside the door. Prices below were checked on 5 September 2026.

If you're heading west rather than east, Kutaisi Airport is the right choice even at the same fare: Batumi is two hours away, Prometheus Cave and the Martvili and Okatse canyons are day trips, and the road to Mestia starts in Zugdidi, about an hour and a half away. Our Kutaisi guide makes the case for a night in the city instead of driving straight through.

Flying to Batumi

Batumi's airport is a summer airport. Turkish Airlines flies from Istanbul two or three times a day all year and Pegasus adds Sabiha Gökçen, so a Batumi arrival via Istanbul is easy from anywhere. Beyond that the schedule is Tel Aviv, the Gulf, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, most of it May to October, and airBaltic from Riga in summer. There are no direct flights from Western Europe.

Batumi also has the one domestic route that matters, Georgian Airways to Tbilisi in 45 minutes, which runs most days but not all. If you want to fly one way and drive or take the train the other, the Tbilisi to Batumi road trip is the better direction to drive, west to east, into the mountains.

On arrival, city buses 10, 10a and 9 stop outside the terminal every 10 to 15 minutes until about 22:00 and take 20 to 30 minutes to the centre; you tap a bank card on board, which costs foreign cards around 1 GEL. Bolt is 12 to 15 GEL to the boulevard or the centre. GoTrip drivers start at 54 GEL per car on the same booking site as above. Our Batumi guide takes it from there.

Arriving at Tbilisi Airport

Tbilisi's terminal is small for a capital and easy to get through: passport control, one baggage hall, one exit into arrivals. Most flights from Europe land in the evening or the small hours, which shapes what to do next.

• Bus 337 runs to the centre and the central railway station every 15 to 20 minutes from about 07:00 to 23:00, 1 GEL per person tapped with a bank card (foreign cards are charged about 1.50 GEL). Rustaveli Avenue was closed to traffic from July 2026 into the autumn and the bus was diverted, so check your stop on the app on the day.
• Bolt is the door-to-door answer around the clock; expect roughly 20 to 40 GEL to the centre depending on the hour, and a wait after midnight. Install the app and add a card before you fly, because the airport Wi-Fi can be slow.
• A fixed-price driver from 54 GEL per car meets you in arrivals and tracks your flight. This is what we book for landings after midnight.
• The airport train to Station Square was not running when we checked in September 2026; services are expected to resume, but don't plan around it.
• Ignore the men offering taxis inside and outside the terminal. They quote 50 to 80 GEL for a ride Bolt does for 30.

Bank of Georgia and TBC ATMs are in the arrivals hall; the mobile operators have counters there too if you'd rather buy a local SIM than land with an eSIM. The full detail, including where the Bolt pickup point is and what to do at 03:00, is in the airport to city guide.

Booking tips

• Season. July, August and the New Year fortnight are the expensive weeks in both directions. May, June, September and October are the sweet spot for weather and fares alike; our best time to visit guide explains why autumn wins.
• Overnight arrivals. Many Istanbul connections land in Tbilisi between 02:00 and 05:00. Book the hotel for the previous night, or you'll be sitting in a lobby until check-in. A daytime Lufthansa, LOT or BA flight avoids this.
• Open-jaw. Flying into Kutaisi and out of Tbilisi (or the reverse) works well and is usually no dearer on Wizz Air; on Turkish Airlines it means two one-way fares, so price both.
• Armenia and Azerbaijan. Tbilisi is the region's hub: Yerevan is 40 minutes by air and five hours by road, Baku 70 minutes with six flights a day. If you're combining countries, the border crossings guide covers the overland options.
• Passports. Carry a passport with six months' validity to be safe (recommended rather than strictly enforced), and there's no visa for citizens of the EU, UK, US, Canada, Australia and many more for stays up to a year. Details and the official source are in the visa guide.

Mistakes to avoid

• Comparing a Wizz lead fare with a full-service fare. Add the bags and the coach before you decide. The gap often shrinks to the price of a nice dinner.
• A short connection at Istanbul Airport. The terminal is one of the largest in the world and the gates for Tbilisi are rarely near the gate you arrive at. Take the longer layover.
• Booking a Pegasus onward flight on a Turkish Airlines long-haul. Different airports on opposite sides of the city, and no protection if the first flight is late.
• Assuming the direct flight runs on your day. Most European directs are two or three a week; several are summer-only. Check the exact date before you book the hotel.
• Landing at 03:00 with no plan. Book a driver or a hotel night in advance, not in the arrivals hall.

Keep planning

Practical Info

Tbilisi Airport to City: Bus 337, Bolt and Transfers 2026

Every way from Tbilisi Airport to the centre in 2026: bus 337 for 1 GEL until 23:00, Bolt fares, fixed-price drivers from 54 GEL, and why the train is not running.

11 min read

Practical Info

Georgia Visa Rules 2026: One Year Visa-Free, Who Qualifies

Georgia entry rules 2026: which 94 countries get a full year visa-free, a 90-day rule for other visa holders, mandatory insurance, e-visa fees, overstay fines.

13 min read

Destinations

Kutaisi: The Complete Guide to Georgia's Most Underrated City

How to visit Kutaisi: Bagrati and Gelati, the Green Bazaar, the cable car, canyons and caves nearby, where to stay and how to get there from the airport.

16 min read