Mestia, a town in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Georgia, is served by Queen Tamar Airport (ICAO: UGMS), a tiny domestic airport. Since its reopening in 2010, it has been called Tamar after the popular figure in Georgian popular culture—the medieval “queen king” regnant of Georgia. United Airports of Georgia, a state-owned enterprise, is the owner and operator of the airport. Squeezed between the mountains of the Greater Caucasus, the airport is situated in a valley close to Mestia at an elevation of 1,456 meters (4,777 feet) above sea level..
With a paved runway measuring 1,156 meters (3,793 feet), Mestia Airport is a small regional airport that serves only domestic flights. Squeezed between the Greater Caucasus mountains and rising 1,456 meters (4,777 feet) above sea level, it is situated in the basin of the Mestiachala River. Its summits reach heights of over 3,000 meters (9,800 feet). It benefits Hatsvali and Tetnuldi ski resorts in addition to summer travel to Svanetia’s mountains. In Soviet times, Mestia was served by air, which came with risks due to the impassable mountain valley’s remoteness. Near Mestia, two Antonov An-2 biplanes went down.