The countdown is real now. Three days until take-off.
The Grand Opening on 5 September
The centrepiece of the expedition is the grand opening of the Ambassadori Aviation Village in Kakheti. Our expedition will have the privilege of being the first international group of aircraft to land there together and the first international guests of the new village. The airfield itself has only just opened, which makes our arrival there particularly symbolic — we are not simply visiting another airfield; we are arriving at the birth of a new aviation destination.
The programme:
- 17:00–18:00 — Welcome Reception
- 18:00–18:40 — Official Opening Ceremony
- 18:40–19:00 — Air Show
- 19:30 — Open-air Gala Dinner by the Academy building
Dress code is semi-formal. Multiple senior members of the Georgian Government and top ministers are expected to attend, together with other official guests. Ambassador Vakhtang (Vato) Makharoblishvili, Ambassador of Georgia to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and head of the Mission of Georgia to the European Union, will also be present. Online translation will be provided during the speeches so every crew can follow.
The cultural programme during the gala dinner will feature the State Academic Ensemble “Abkhazia”, Nato Metonidze, Liza Bagrationi and a Georgian music ensemble. If you have never heard Georgian polyphonic singing live in the country it comes from, this alone is worth the flight.
The days around the ceremony
The 3 – 7 September window at the base is deliberately built to be participant-driven. On 4 September, crews who booked the optional Bodbe & Sighnaghi excursion travel to two of Kakheti’s landmarks; others are free to enjoy Ambassadori, the wine region or optional local flying. On 6 September there is an optional Tbilisi city tour organised with the Georgian National Tourism Administration. On 7 September we offer five à la carte options — self-fly to Mestia and Ushguli in the High Caucasus, self-fly to Kutaisi with Prometheus Cave and Okatse Canyon, a jeep tour to Vashlovani National Park, a jeep tour to David Gareja Monastery and the Rainbow Mountains, or a full-day helicopter excursion to Tusheti.
One week from now
One week from now, twenty-six aircraft will be somewhere between Wels and Batumi, with the front of the group already on Georgian soil. The paperwork is done, the fuel plans are locked, the hotels are booked, the crews are packed. What remains is what has always remained in this kind of flying: the weather, and the willingness of every crew to make the same calls at the same time.
See you in the sky.
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Peter Sodermans
Expedition Coordinator, Luxembourg to Georgia Expedition 2026
