One of the most frequent questions we often get is : how does one fly from Luxembourg to Georgia today?

There are several practical options:

• Luxembourg → Istanbul → Tbilisi (Turkish Airlines, Pegasus etc.), but Lufthansa also offers some routes
• Paris → Tbilisi direct with Georgian Airlines (just under 5 hours)
• Charleroi → Kutaisi direct with low cost airline Wizz Air
• Frankfurt/Hahn → Kutaisi direct with Wizz Air

There is no direct flight from Luxembourg to Georgia (yet)

In cargo however, Luxembourg and Georgia are already linked.
Cargolux already flies cargo into Tbilisi — and this is not theoretical.
Cargolux added Tbilisi to its route network back in 2008 (Paperjam report: https://paperjam.lu/article/communique-cargolux-adds-tbilissigeorgia-its-route-network).

Passenger-wise, Tbilisi Airport handles around 5 million passengers per year — remarkably, about the same size as Luxembourg Airport.

Georgia is now preparing the construction of a new airport near Tbilisi — with a capacity of 20 million passengers. This shows the ambition and the scale.

Tourism to Georgia is booming.
More than 7 million international visits are expected this year — and the highest percentage growth comes from Western Europe.
Tbilisi, in particular, is becoming one of Europe’s most attractive city trip destinations: great food, outstanding wine culture, vibrant nightlife, thermal baths, and a unique architectural landscape combining Middle Eastern influences, Soviet modernism and European heritage. Perfect for city trips.

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Meeting Tamar Iosseliani in Tbilisi

During my September two week study trip to Tbilisi to acquire economical insights, I had the privilege to meet Tamar Iosseliani, at that time Chairperson of the Supervisory Board of United Airports of Georgia.
We discussed Georgia’s aviation expansion, the momentum the country has, and I raised the idea of exploring whether a direct passenger flight between Luxembourg and Georgia could be feasible — even seasonally. She embraced the idea to make this happen.

Only a few days after this discussion, Tamar Iosseliani was appointed Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia.
She is a brilliant, competence-driven personality, and her appointment strengthens the strategic direction Georgia is taking. A clear win for the Georgian government to have her onboard.

Official announcement: https://www.economy.ge/?page=news&nw=2861&lang=en

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The Tbilisi Silk Road Forum — and Levan Karanadze

In October, I returned to Tbilisi for the Silk Road Forum. One of the key voices in the aviation panel was Levan Karanadze ( — Chairman of the Supervisory Council of Sakaeronavigatsia (Georgian Air Navigation Service Provider); and Chairman of the ICAO EASPG (European Aviation System Planning Group).

It is also important to underline that Levan was already the person who opened the doors for Luxembourg aviators back in 2016 — when the first “Luxembourg General Aviation rally to Georgia” I organised with AOPA. He has been consistently constructive, accessible and internationally minded — already at that time.

His message in Tbilisi whilst the October SIlk Road Forum confirmed the message that Tamar Iosseliani mentioned previously: Georgia is scaling its aviation substantially to serve both tourism and the Middle Corridor.

And the numbers speak:

• 78 airlines
• 122 destinations
• 40 countries
• Open Skies Agreements with 32 countries
• Visa-free regime with 100 states

Growth 2024:

• Passenger volume: +14%
• Flight frequency: +18%
• Cargo volume: +24%

Georgia is not developing gradually — Georgia is compounding capacity.

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The Middle Corridor — Georgia’s continental role

All of this aviation growth is aligned with a much larger geo-economic shift: the Middle Corridor.

This is the new East–West multimodal transport axis connecting:

China → Kazakhstan → Caspian Sea → Azerbaijan → Georgia → Black Sea → Europe

This route bypasses Russia.

Since 2022, global east–west cargo flows have been re-routing through this Southern route at high speed. For the EU, this corridor is today one of the most strategic alternatives for Eurasian trade.

Georgia sits at the hinge point of this corridor — on rail, on sea, and increasingly — in the air.

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Kutaisi — scaling into a dual passenger + cargo hub

Kutaisi International Airport is close to its limits today (1.7 million passengers in 2023).
By 2043, this is projected at 5.1 million.

The Masterplan 2024–2043 foresees:

• 3,500m runway (operational end-2026)
• expanded passenger terminal
• dedicated cargo apron and MRO facilities
• up to 1,000 new jobs

Kutaisi will become not only a low-cost gateway — but an aviation logistics node in Western Georgia, feeding the Middle Corridor network.

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Telavi Airport — GA hub in the wine region

In Kakheti — often compared to Provence or Tuscany because of its natural beauty — Telavi Airport is being modernised.
It is not an international airport, but a regional GA hub with strong potential for private aviation, flying clubs and wine tourism.

And there is a tradition: Luxembourg pilots already flew to Georgia in 2016 with a dozen small planes and landed in Telavi as well, on the first long-distance rally from the Grand Duchy to the Caucasus, organised under AOPA Luxembourg (see report: https://www.aopa.lu/2016/12/24/report-georgia-2016/).

A new rally from Luxembourg to Georgia is in the make — bigger, more international — with a fleet of small aircrafts from Luxembourg to Georgia, also in collaboration with AOPA Luxembourg.

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The New Vaziani International Airport near Tbilisi

The most significant aviation decision we learned about at the Tbilisi Silk road forum in October however, is the creation of Vaziani International Airport — a completely brand new airport east of Tbilisi, just a couple of kilometers next to the existying Tbilisi Airport

• capacity: 20 million passengers
• runway: 3,600m
• full cargo + MRO cluster
• located only 12 km from the current airport

Timeline:

Phase	Timing
Feasibility, international tender	2025–2026
Masterplan + construction	2027–2031
Start of operations	2031

Impact:

• up to 1,200 jobs during construction
• up to 4,000 new jobs during operations

What impressed me most is the timeline. In less than 5 years from now, this new airport will be operational. The Georgians are super fast.

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Why this matters for Luxembourg

Luxembourg has:

• Europe’s strongest independent all-cargo airline (Cargolux)
• one of the EU’s highest business mobility densities
• a financial ecosystem that thrives on connectivity

Georgia is:

• clearly positioning itself as the aviation backbone of the Middle Corridor
• modernising infrastructure at a disruptive speed
• building a 20 million passenger gateway
• becoming a top emerging tourism destination

Why a Luxembourg–Georgia direct passenger flight deserves to be explored — now

Today, there is no direct passenger flight from Brussels to Tbilisi anymore. The last direct connection disappeared during the COVID period and was never restored.
From Charleroi and Frankfurt–Hahn, only low-cost carriers operate to Kutaisi, not to Tbilisi.
So if you want to fly from the Greater Region to Georgia with a traditional airline, you must route through Paris, Amsterdam or Düsseldorf to find a direct Tbilisi flight.

This leaves a gap. A real, structural gap. And Luxair is uniquely positioned to fill it.

Luxembourg sits in the middle of a dense, high-income region with millions of potential passengers within a 90-minute radius. Georgia, meanwhile, is a country whose aviation market is not just growing — it is transforming at extraordinary speed.

A direct Luxembourg–Tbilisi flight addresses a clear market need

1. Tbilisi is becoming one of Europe’s most attractive city-trip destinations.
   Travellers are looking for new, authentic experiences close enough to reach in under five hours — but far enough to feel truly different.
   Tbilisi offers:
   • a vibrant restaurant scene
   • world-class wine culture
   • colourful neighbourhoods and iconic balconies
   • sulfur baths and wellness culture
   • impressive modern architecture next to medieval quarters
   • museums, opera, river promenade and a lively creative scene
   A direct flight would instantly place Tbilisi on the city-trip map of the Greater Region, just as Luxair successfully did with destinations like Porto, Palermo, Dubrovnik and Florence.
2. Kakheti — the “Tuscany of the Caucasus” — is booming
   Only a 90-minute drive from Tbilisi, Kakheti has become one of Europe’s most compelling wine regions:
   rolling hills, boutique wineries, authentic gastronomy and landscapes comparable to Provence or Tuscany — but still unspoiled and surprisingly affordable.
   For weekenders and short breaks, this region is ready to explode in popularity once access becomes easier.
3. Skiing in the Caucasus is a rising star of European winter tourism
   Resorts like Gudauri, Bakuriani and Hatsvali/Mestia offer:
   • high-altitude slopes
   • modern lifts
   • excellent snow reliability
   • heli-skiing options
   • significantly lower prices than the Alps
   For winter sports enthusiasts in the Greater Region, a direct flight would open a whole new playground.
4. Luxair can position itself as the bridge between Western Europe and the Caucasus
   With no direct flight from Belgium, or western Germany or eastern France, the first carrier to connect these two regions will gain a clear competitive edge.
5. Business travel is growing — and unserved
   Georgia is a fast-rising market in:
   • digital finance
   • transport & logistics
   • hospitality
   • construction
   • Middle Corridor infrastructure
   • defence and industrial partnerships
   The number of delegations, corporate visits, trade missions and investors travelling between Luxembourg and Georgia is increasing — yet the air connectivity remains fragmented and inefficient.

A direct passenger route is not a dream — it is a realistic opportunity

Luxembourg already has a strong air connection with Georgia through Cargolux, which has been flying to Tbilisi since 2008. Cargo routes often predict passenger viability: the economic ties are already there.

Tbilisi Airport handles about as many passengers as Luxembourg Airport today, and Georgia is constructing a brand-new 20-million-passenger airport at Vaziani — operational by early 2030s.
The country’s aviation vision is bold, pragmatic and data-driven.

Seasonal operations — for example April to October, with winter flights focused on ski tourism — would already capture significant demand.

This is one of those rare moments where two countries’ trajectories meet perfectly.

Luxembourg — a global hub in miniature.
Georgia — the rising aviation backbone of the Middle Corridor.

A direct line between the two is not only feasible.
It is logical. Timely. And full of potential.