The state-owned company Sakaeronavigatsia plans to conduct a new study to determine how the safety zone surrounding Batumi Airport should be modified.
One of the objectives of the study will be to develop “customized safety surfaces, including height zoning, tailored for Batumi International Airport,” which will ensure both flight safety and greater flexibility for the city’s urban development.
For the modification of the existing obstacle limitation surfaces (OLS) within Batumi Aerodrome’s protection area, the development of customized obstacle limitation surfaces (OLS), and the determination of maximum permissible obstacle heights, Sakaeronavigatsia has already announced a tender for the procurement of aeronautical study services.
OLS are safety surfaces that establish height limits for obstacles around an airport. In other words, if an object exceeds these surfaces, it is considered an obstacle and may pose a threat to aviation.
Therefore, OLS determine where and at what height a building, pole, tree, or other object may be located so as not to interfere with aircraft takeoff and landing.
According to the tender’s technical specifications, airport safety rules and geographical conditions hinder the use of the area surrounding Batumi Airport. In particular, aircraft at Batumi Airport take off only toward the sea and land only from the sea. A special safety zone has been established, which “restricts the city’s development.”
“In accordance with the standards and recommended practices of the International Civil Aviation Organization, obstacle limitation surfaces have been established for Batumi International Airport.
However, due to the surrounding high terrain and the airport’s unique operational characteristics—specifically, one-directional operations with takeoffs toward the sea and landings from the sea—the existing obstacle limitation surfaces (OLS) significantly restrict urban development, especially within the areas bounded by the inner horizontal and conical surfaces,” the tender’s technical specifications state.
The tender announced by Sakaeronavigatsia notes that “the purpose of the study is not to develop the standard obstacle limitation surfaces defined in ICAO Annex 14 [a document of the International Civil Aviation Organization].
Instead, the concept and methodology of customized/modified obstacle limitation surfaces and a corresponding aerodrome safety map will be applied, with full justification provided through an aeronautical study in accordance with national regulations and ICAO standards and recommended practices.”
According to the technical specifications, a reassessment of the obstacle limitation surfaces for Batumi Airport is required, along with the development of customized OLS adapted for both instrument (IFR) and visual (VFR) flight operations at Batumi International Airport, in accordance with ICAO standards and recommended practices.
The objectives of this assignment are:
“To conduct a detailed aeronautical study in order to assess the impact caused by terrain and obstacle penetration on flight safety, as well as on navigation and ground-based communication facilities;
To develop customized OLS for Batumi International Airport, including height zoning, taking into account existing or proposed flight operations as well as existing obstacles/terrain conditions, ensuring flight safety and regularity while also allowing greater flexibility for urban development;
Where necessary, to define and propose revised flight procedures (including absolute and relative decision heights during missed approach in the event of an unforeseen single-engine failure) in support of the implementation of the new customized OLS.”
According to the same assignment:
Given that the current missed approach procedures at Batumi Airport are based on a left turn over the city, the consultant must assess the possibility of a right-turn missed approach, with the establishment of prohibited airspace over Batumi (within the inner horizontal and conical surfaces), if such an approach reduces penetration into the existing protection area and/or allows less restrictive height limits within the city;
The consultant must also assess the possibility of a left-turn missed approach with prohibited airspace established south of the airport (within the inner horizontal and conical surfaces), if this configuration provides better mitigation and/or allows more flexible development conditions in the southern zone;
For information: in the case of a “right-turn missed approach,” aircraft would be required to overfly the territory of the former Gonio military training ground. This area partially falls within the airport’s protection zone. The “Georgian Dream” government has announced the implementation of a large-scale project in this area together with an Arab company. At this stage, it is unknown whether the airport protection zone will interfere with this project. However, in this case, the impression is created that the airport protection zone may be adapted to the city’s urban development.
The customized OLS for Batumi Airport must include:
“The determination of maximum permissible construction heights; spatial zoning with predefined height limits for each zone, instead of individual assessment of each obstacle; a report describing each customized OLS surface, indicating reference points and relevant parameters.
The prepared map must be color-coded, with maximum permissible heights indicated for each zone. The final product must be compatible with urban planning GIS/CAD systems.
The map must also take into account obstacle clearance height requirements for existing or proposed instrument flight procedures, in addition to the obstacle limitation surfaces (OLS) defined in Annex 14 of the 1944 ICAO Convention, which cannot be modified through an aeronautical study.”
After completion of the study, the customized OLS and the study results will be submitted to the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency for review and approval, and may subsequently be integrated into Batumi’s relevant urban development plan.
This will form the basis for issuing construction permits and for the safe and coordinated management of development in the vicinity of the airport.
“The successful implementation of this assignment will ensure both the safe operation of air traffic and the sustainable urban development of Batumi and the surrounding region,” the technical specifications state.
According to the tender announced by Sakaeronavigatsia, the submission of proposals will begin on December 7, 2025, and will conclude five days later, on December 12.
The estimated procurement value is 623,356 GEL [excluding VAT].
The winning bidder will have 7 months to conduct the study and prepare the relevant documentation.
Height restriction zones and permissible heights for flight safety at airports are defined by the requirements of Volume I of Annex 14 to the 1944 Chicago Convention, to which Georgia is a party. In Batumi, several buildings exceed the height limits permitted for flight safety at Batumi Airport Batumelebi reported on this issue back in 2018.