On May 1, Russia launched regular flights to the occupied Abkhazia. UVT Aero operated the first flight from Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport to Sokhumi. UVT Aero has been sanctioned by the European Union since the start of the war in Ukraine.
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A Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft, with a capacity for 50 passengers, will operate the Moscow-Sukhumi route once a week. The flight will depart at 2:30 PM Moscow time, arriving at Vnukovo Airport from Sukhumi at 11:00 PM.
Russia's Ministry of Transport announced that flights to Sukhumi will also operate from Nizhny Novgorod, Ufa, and potentially Kazan.
The Sukhumi airport, located 18 kilometers from Sukhumi in the village of Babushara, had been closed since 1993. A so-called "agreement" for its restoration was signed between the governments of Russia and occupied Abkhazia's de facto authorities in 2023. The airport has been handed over to the Russians for 49 years.
The Sukhumi Airport doesn’t hold an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) code.
"Our position is clear. Georgia condemns the operation of the airport in violation of international norms, and this is not just our position; I. The International Civil Aviation Organization also supports this. We have constant dialogue and close cooperation with ICAO, and this [flights] contradicts ICAO's principles and the Law on Occupation. The ministry has always had a clear stance on this; it has always been openly condemned by our side, and we will maintain this position," stated Levan Davitashvili, Vice Prime Minister of the Georgian Dream government.
The European Union also condemned the Russian Federation's unilateral decision to launch regular commercial passenger flights to occupied Sukhumi.
“This action, taken without the consent of the Georgian authorities and in the absence of a necessary international aviation code for the Sukhumi airport, is yet another step by the Russian Federation violating Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The European Union reiterates its firm support for Georgia's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders," declared Anouar El Anouni, spokesperson for the European Union on foreign affairs and security policy.
