The route — over 4,000 NM across eleven countries

August 1, 2026

The route we are flying is not the shortest path from Luxembourg to Georgia — and that is entirely by design.

Expedition Georgia 2026 flight route map — Luxembourg to Kakheti via Hungary, Bulgaria and Türkiye; return via Greece, Italy and France — Outbound in blue (29 Aug – 5 Sep), return in orange (8 – 13 Sep). Ten countries, eleven if you count the Corsica refuel on the way back.

Over 4,000 nautical miles across eleven countries in fifteen days. The outbound leg takes us from Luxembourg-Findel eastwards via Wels in Austria, Jakabszállás in Hungary, Primorsko in Bulgaria and Çorlu in Türkiye — the compulsory Turkish entry customs stop. From there we push east along the Black Sea coast via Istanbul Atatürk, Engiz, Ordu-Giresun and finally Batumi (UGSB) for entry into Georgia. The last hop is Batumi to Ambassadori Aviation Village in Kakheti — our base for the ceremony window.

Why this route

Every stop is a compromise between range, fuel availability, customs and accommodation. AVGAS is not universally available in eastern Europe or Türkiye, and MOGAS availability for ULMs is thinner still — so the fuel plan drives the routing as much as anything else. Turkish state airports waive approach, landing and parking fees for expedition participants for up to five days per airport, which shapes where we stop and where we merely refuel. Georgian arrival is via Batumi rather than Tbilisi because Batumi is the natural Black Sea coast entry point for aircraft transiting through Türkiye.

The Georgian base

Kakheti is Georgia’s great wine region, often compared to Tuscany or Provence for its vineyards, rolling landscapes, food and hospitality. Ambassadori Aviation Village sits in the middle of it. It is a newly opened aviation destination, and our expedition will be the first international group of aircraft to land there together and the first international guests of the village. That is not a marketing line — it is genuinely the first arrival of this kind.

Svaneti watchtowers in Georgia — high Caucasus mountain scenery — Svaneti in the High Caucasus — one of the optional self-fly destinations from Kachreti during the Georgia base window.

The return

The return leg begins with Batumi (Georgia exit) and re-enters Türkiye at Rize-Artvin (LTFO) for customs, then follows the Black Sea coast to Samsun for the night, crosses inland to Izmir-Selçuk (near Ephesus), and exits Türkiye at Izmir. From there we re-enter Schengen at Ioannina in Greece for entry customs and refuelling, continue to southern Italy at SibariFly for a two-night rest window, and cross Corsica on the final group day to Aix-les-Milles in southern France for the farewell dinner. Home the next day, each pilot to their own base.

Fifteen days, ten countries visited, eleven if we count the Corsica refuel. Twenty-six aircraft, around sixty people. The route is finalised. What happens on it depends on the weather and, as always in this kind of flying, on the willingness of every crew to make the same calls at the same time.