If the vaccination process develops successfully globally and locally in 2021, air traffic in Georgia will return to the pre-pandemic mark in 2022 and will increase by 120%, says the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol. 

In addition, if vaccination continues successfully in 2020 air traffic will improve by 105% by 2023, and if the epidemic situation worsens and the vaccination process is extended in time, aviation will return to its original level only in 2024, says the Eurocontrol.

At the video meeting with the director of the Civil Aviation Agency of Georgia, Eurocontrol Director General Eamonn Brennan said that recent indicators in terms of air traffic recovery in Georgia are positive and there is a promising increase in both the number of flights.

After the year-long lockdown, visits by international travellers who came to Georgia amounted to 212,700 in the first four months of 2021, which is 81.6% less compared to the same period of last year, says Galt & Taggart. However, in April alone international travellers made 82,519 visits in Georgia, which is an increase of 140.4% year-on-year.

The top 10 countries from where most international visits were carried out to Georgia in April 2021 were:

• Turkey - 21,106 visitor (+48.4%)
• Israel - 10,098 visitor (+13%)
• Russia - 8,518 visitor (+125.5%)
• Armenia - 8,331 visitors (+3.9%)
• Ukraine - 5,922 visitors (+403.6%)
• Azerbaijan - 5,287 visitors (+107.3%)
• Uzbekistan - 2,711 visitors (+292.9%)
• Kazakhstan - 1,639 visitors (+284.7%)
• Belarus - 1,463 visitors (+77.1%)
• Iran - 1,024 visitors (+611.1%)

Of the 212,700 visits made in January-April, 192,400 were touristic visits (-75.7% y/y).

Last year the number of international visits decreased 80% year-on-year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, says Galt & Taggart.

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