Interview with TAV Georgia GM Tea Zakaradze

TAV Georgia Is Always Ready to Contribute in the Development of Georgian Aviation

Tea Zakaradze, the newly appointed General Manager of TAV Georgia, the company that manages the operations of Tbilisi International Airport and Batumi International Airport spoke about the company's historic contributions to the development of Georgia. While taking cognizance of current challenges, Zakaradze further affirms TAV Georgia's commitment to future investments in Georgia.

First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your appointment as the General Manager of TAV Georgia and wish you success. The company has a Georgian, and a female manager for the first time. You have held various positions in the company since 2005, so, what are your plans now that you have been appointed as the General Manager?

Thank you so much for your warm wishes. My appointment to the position of General Manager places double responsibility on me. In addition to being the first Georgian and at the same time the first female general manager, I represent a global brand in the field of aviation in Georgia and together with my professional team, I manage the two main and strategically important for the country airports. Since 2005, when TAV ventured into Georgia, I have held various leading positions in the company and the path to the one of the general manager has not been easy, but the stereotype that aviation is a field for men gave me additional motivation to achieve and implement my goals. At the same time, it made existing challenges more attractive. Working in different positions in the company allowed me to get better acquainted with a completely new and unfamiliar field. Since my first day at TAV, I tried to be involved in the activities of all departments so that I could get better acquainted with and learn about the operations of the airports.

The pandemic is not over yet and aviation is still facing challenges, therefore it is first and foremost important to me to create a safe environment in the airport so that passengers can feel safe to travel. To do this, it is our priority to have all the necessary infrastructure provided in the airports. Our company is represented by various services in 92 airports of 26 countries around the world and we pay special attention to infrastructure in all our airports. Improving the quality of service is important to us. Another of our priorities is ensuring that the infrastructure that we offer to the airlines that are newly entering the Georgian market and do not know the country, is tailored to their needs and they are willing to stay in this market.

The company made its first investment in Georgia in 2005, and in 2017 “TAV Georgia” was named one of the largest investor companies in the country. What is the company’s full investment portfolio and how would you assess the investment environment in Georgia then and now?

Georgia was the first foreign project for TAV Holding. One of the main tasks of our team was to contribute to the development of Tbilisi and further increase Batumi’s tourism potential. To do this, we first had to carry out important infrastructure projects to attract new airlines and to offer them high quality services. Implementing all of these was a really big challenge for TAV, because in Georgia we started everything from scratch. Since 2005, TAV Georgia has invested $ 220 million in Georgia. When we started operating in Tbilisi, the annual passenger flow was 500,000, and at Batumi International Airport it was 40,000. As a result of the proper and innovative airport management policies and infrastructure projects implemented by us, this number grew to 4,400,000 across both airports in 2019. We have established new, international standards for the service of both passengers and aircraft at the airports that we manage.

The country’s investment environment depends on many factors including political stability and economic development. In Georgia, we have faced many challenges ranging from the war in 2008, to the economic crisis, political turbulence, the pandemic, but despite all these challenges, we have not stopped any of our projects because of the close communication that we have with the government of Georgia. I think over the years, TAV Georgia have really lived up to the bidding as one of the largest investors that really meets the country’s expectations.

What was the pandemic year like for your company? How did you manage to cope with the challenges?

As you know, the pandemic had the most adverse financial effects on aviation and other related areas. Batumi International Airport was completely closed, while Tbilisi International Airport served only freight and return flights. International experts predict aviation to return to the 2019 figures in 2023-24, so pandemic problems remain one of the company’s major challenges. Our team managed to promptly assess the crisis and its aftermaths and reevaluated our priorities. In the shortest time since the outbreak of the pandemic, the airports we operate were meeting the highest level of epidemiological safety standards of the World Health Organization. In addition to returning the pre-pandemic rate to the Georgian aviation market, the main priority for us today is to create a safe and comfortable environment for passengers and our staff.

The government is interested in expanding Tbilisi and Batumi airports. Is TAV Georgia planning to make new investments? And what has been done in recent years to develop these airports?

The operation of Batumi International Airport was practically stopped for 10 months. We had an option of postponing the airport expansion project because the financial problems caused by the pandemic gave us reason to do so. However, our team once again accurately assessed the future risks and against the background of the crisis made a $ 17 million investment in Batumi Airport expansion project increasing the airport capacity from 500,000 to 1,200,000. As a result, the renovated Batumi International Airport has made a great contribution to the readiness of Adjara region for its tourists.

As you know, the airport is like a living organism and it needs annual renewal and various infrastructure projects. We have built a new runway (G) in Tbilisi International Airport this year, making an additional $ 2.5 million investment for it. The new taxiway will increase the runway capacity and make movement on the aerodrome more comfortable for airlines. In total, Tbilisi International Airport will have six taxiways. As you know, in 2016-17 we implemented large-scale infrastructural projects in Tbilisi International Airport, rehabilitated the runway and taxiways, built a new arrival terminal and added new aircraft parking stands on the aerodrome.

At this stage how many airlines operate in Tbilisi and Batumi airports? And are you negotiating with other airlines?

At present, 33 passenger and up to 10 cargo airlines operate at Tbilisi International Airport. Due to the pandemic, cross-border regulations do not allow many airlines to return to our market. We are starting the winter navigation season and we hope the existing airlines will maintain their frequencies and serve passengers at their full capacity. We are actively involved in the daily negotiations with the airlines. For us, all airlines are an equal priority. The pandemic has affected not only the airports but also the airlines, therefore we take the current economic crisis in our field into account and have created favorable conditions for the operation to offer to both new and existing airlines. This year four new airlines started operating international flights in Tbilisi. Among them are Eurowings, having its flights from Dusseldorf twice a week, and the newly established Bees Airline, which operates from Kiev and Kherson to Tbilisi five times a week.

The summer season was quite busy at Batumi International Airport, flights were launched by five new airlines (Air Astana, Bees Airline, LOT Airlines, Aircompany Armenia, and FlyJordan). Ukraine International Airlines and Pegasus Airlines also returned to the airport after a gap of several years.

How do you see the development of Tbilisi and Batumi airports shaping out in the future?

One of the main achievements of TAV Georgia is the creation of qualified staff in the airport business. I can confidently say that TAV Georgia has laid a foundation for the acquisition and development of vocational education in the aviation sector, particularly in the area of services. Of course, the infrastructure of airports and the expansion of its capacity are important, but the creation of qualified human resources is also a priority. For this purpose, we engage dozens of students every year at Tbilisi and Batumi International Airports and see to ensuring their getting professional education. In addition, our training center turns out thousands of trainees annually working in the public or private sections of the aviation sector.

After the end of the pandemic we are ready to submit a threestage plan for the development of Tbilisi International Airport to the government. We will start negotiations with the State on this plan as soon as the pandemic is over. The pandemic has shown us that the demand for cargo transfers is quite growing, therefore we want to adapt the infrastructure of the airports under our control to cargo flights and improve the service in the future. Private jet flights have also increased during this period, which is why we are considering setting up a separate terminal for priority passengers.

We are always ready to contribute to the development of the country, both in terms of economy and tourism, by making additional investments. TAV Georgia is truly one of the most respected and trusted partners in the country, as evidenced by the credit and support we have received from the public and airlines over these years.