Batumi Airport departures

Live departures board

Gate and check-in desk change up to the last minute, so the only board worth reading is the operator’s own. Ours would be a snapshot taken at build time; theirs is the one that moves.

Official departures board at batumiairport.com

Before the flight

The airport suggests starting check-in two hours before the scheduled time of an international flight. That is the operator’s own wording, not a rule of thumb of ours.

Baggage allowance is set by your airline, not by the airport — check your ticket. Travelling with a pet works the same way: the procedure differs from carrier to carrier, so ask the airline first.

Luggage wrapping machines stand on the departures floor. Arriving passengers have no use for it.

Liquids in hand luggage

The limit on liquids at screening is set by the aviation regulator, not by the airport: containers of no more than 100 ml, all of them together in one transparent bag of up to 1 litre.

• Each container holds no more than 100 ml. A larger one is refused even when it is only part-filled — what counts is the size of the bottle, not how much is left in it.
• The containers go into one transparent re-sealable bag with a capacity of up to 1 litre.
• One such bag per passenger, and no more.
• At the screening point the bag is presented for visual examination.
• Liquids bought in duty free or on board travel in the sealed bag they came in — the one that shows if it has been opened — with the proof of purchase inside. One condition is easy to miss: the purchase has to be made on the day of departure.
• Medication, baby milk and food, and special dietary food are the exception and may exceed the limits.

Batumi Airport itself publishes nothing about liquids — we read both of its security pages. The regulator adds that an individual airport may impose stricter requirements, and that its own rules then take precedence. So do not carry over the routine of another airport, and check anything borderline with your airline before you pack.

Source: Georgian Civil Aviation Agency, gcaa.ge — the regulator, not the airport. Checked September 2026; the page carries neither a regulation number nor a revision date, so the date here is the date we checked.

Liquids, aerosols and gels at gcaa.ge

Smoking areas

Smoking is allowed only at designated smoking areas — that is the airport’s own wording, quoted from its passenger guide. It does not say where those areas are, so neither do we: ask at the information desk, which works around the clock.

VAT refund

A foreign citizen is due the VAT refund before crossing the economic border of Georgia — that is, on the way out, not afterwards. The refund applies only to purchases from shops authorised to issue the special VAT-refund receipt.

Getting to the airport

Plan the ride on top of the two hours the airport suggests for check-in. The transport page has the buses, Bolt ranges and the taxi rank; a pre-booked car is the option that does not depend on finding a bus before dawn.