Tbilisi Airport

These comments are rather old and out of date. Tbilisi airport is much better than for example Yerevan airport. The passport queues are very quick now luggage arrives speedily the airport is modern and bright and a new terminal is opening within the next few weeks. There is a bar constantly open for those who depart. Yes it is a small airport but it is also a small country! The flights still mostly arrive in the middle of the night presumably in order not to disturb the gentle citizens around European airports who need their sleep.

I found this one of the most revolting airports I have ever been. The facilities have changed little since soviet times and are just too small. In arrivals there was only one luggage-belt. Some thugs monopolized the trollies and demanded money from foreigners who wanted to use them. Unruly taxi drivers even pushed their way into the arrivals hall looking for prey (foreigners). Departure was even worse. The departure hall is much bigger and supposedly better organized but still we had a very unpleasant time there. First of all most flights seem to leave very early in the morning (around 5 AM) which is already inconvenient. Secondly the check-in of several flights at the same time causes a lot of confusion. Staff works extremely slow and broad shouldered types simply push their way up the lines while people behind you gladly try to push you aside. The guards in the hall are uninterested in this and do not take any action at all. After receiving our boarding pass we had to go upstairs. In spite of the sign "passengers only" the stairs were blocked by people saying goodbye to their loved ones. There were only 2 desks for foreign passports. Even here some unpleasant types tried to push themselves in front. People from western countries were treated politely but my wife who has a Moldovan passport and a valid residence permit for the Netherlands experienced real trouble. An extremely unfriendly female official grabbed her passport and without any explanation went into some office rudely ordering my wife to follow her. I went after her and found some officer holding my wife's passport. I demanded an explanation as well as their names and registration numbers. One good thing about Georgia's rose revolution is the fact that officials are in fact required to identify themselves when asked and that it is also possible to make a complaint against them. Luckily this helped without even looking into the passport he gave it back saying that there was " no problem" . I am sure that without this intervention they might have detained my wife for hours. I am deeply disappointed that officials at this airport show a smiling face to westerners while at the same time they apparently take pleasure in harrassing people from poor countries. After this intermezzo we had to go to the metal detector. There was only one working so again a huge queue had formed. This detector did not work at all - it went off for almost everybody but not for me even though I was carrying a pocket knife with me! Finally we had reached the " departure lounge" an extremely small area with a bar and one sad " tax free shop". I am a smoker myself but the fumes exhausted by visitors of the bar were even too much for me. There seemed to be no toilet at all however when looking really well (a small corridor behind the bar) you could find it. Even though Georgia produces wonderful souvenirs there was nothing except cigarettes and some alcoholic drinks in the taxfree sold by some unfriendly women spending their time chatting to each other and taking cigarette-breaks. There were 2 " exit gates" (not indicated by numbers). Departures were announced in unclear english (no monitors). Travellers had to walk down to ground level were busses were waiting to take them to the planes. Since these busses stand next to each other and several take-offs take place almost simultaneously this leads to confusion when people get into the wrong bus. We were really glad to have the ordeal behind us. A terrible place unworthy of this beautiful country!

For an international airport Tbilisi is almost unforgivably small but this is because it was only a regional airport for the Caucasus region until 1991 when Georgia became independent from the USSR. The first sight that greets you is an enormous Marlboro billboard. Passport control is almost immediately at the entrance after which you go to baggage pick-up which is frightfully small for what is now an international airport. However it is located right next to the passport control desks so it is impossible to miss. The exit is right after baggage pickup. All this is located in the small first-floor area of the airport and you can clearly see the exit the minute you walk inside things are that compact. The departure hall is larger and much better organized than arrivals. Signage is adequate but only in Georgian and to a lesser extent English. Even though the majority of people visiting Tbilisi would come from former Soviet republics Russian remains totally absent from signs due to political reasons even though it would be more common among passengers than English.

This airport is one of the smallest you will find anywhere representing itself as the country's biggest airport. It's not a particularly well lit airport and the facilities are very basic. When you arrive immigration can be chaotic. The queues I found tended to be slow and as is the case throughout Georgia with government officials being so lowly paid they tend to have the urgency of a tortoise. Some immigration officials when I arrived there were more interested in having a smoke and chatting to their friends rather than process tired passengers. This was 5.30am too when your patience is stretched after a days traveling like mine had been. That is another gripe too the foreign carriers to Georgia for some reason seem to get the worst slots landing in the early hours of the morning and then turning round immediately so you leave at the crack of dawn too. Because of the size usually there is only one arrival at a time the arrivals area would be crushed with 600+ people in there at the same time. When departing my advice would be to get there as late as possible. The queues are never particularly very long for departure. Figuring out the confusing customs form sorts that problem out. One thing people should be wary of is the attempts of customs officials looking for a bribe if your bags are too heavy. Do not pay they have no legal right to issue a "fine" for this. The airline will charge for excess baggage if you are over. If you do get stopped by a customs man refuse to pay they will soon give in and move on to another sucker. The departure lounge is very basic with just a few chairs and one exit to the aircraft so there can be confusion if another flight is leaving at the same time as there is no announcements on the pa. This airport can have the look of being daunting as is the horrors with ex soviet states but with patience and common sense you should be able to get through it unscathed.