A test flight from Russia to Sukhumi Airport is expected by the end of the year. This announcement was made by Dmitry Volvach, the Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development, who, along with a delegation from the Ministry, arrived in occupied Abkhazia for a three-day visit. The Georgian government has not responded to this information.
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According to the Russian Economy Ministry, a working group meeting was held during the visit regarding the Sukhumi Airport. The meeting covered issues such as airport taxes and tariffs for airlines, the transfer of land plots to the investor, sources of funding for checkpoint equipment, and the approval of a detailed road map.
"It is important to note that the Sukhumi Airport reconstruction project is fully financed by a Russian private investor. The new airport will alleviate congestion at the Sochi Airport and the Adler checkpoint, which are currently the only points of entry for Russian citizens into Abkhazia. For Abkhazia, this will increase the flow of tourists and stimulate the development of the republic's business sector. We are expecting a test flight from Russia at the reconstructed airport by the end of this year," noted Dmitry Volvach.
The Tourism Deputy Minister of the de facto republic, Astamur Bartsitsa, stated in May that they expect to receive 1.7 million Russian tourists in Abkhazia this year. As he says, about 1.4 million organized Russian tourists visited the occupied region of Georgia last year.
Regarding the restoration of Vladislav Ardzinba Sokhumi International Airport, an agreement between the governments of Russia and de facto Abkhazia was signed in June 2023. The airport will be restored by Infrastructural Development LLC, a company owned by Rashid Nurgaliyev (junior), the son of the former Russian Internal Affairs Minister and currently the First Deputy Secretary of the Security Council, Rashid Nurgaliev. The company was established on July 10, 2023, and is registered in Moscow. The de facto government of Abkhazia has handed over the airport to the Russian investor for 49 years.
Sukhumi Airport, located 18 kilometers from Sukhumi in the village of Babushara, was opened in the 1960s and closed in 1993 due to the ongoing conflict in Abkhazia. The airport is not certified by the Aviation Authority of Georgia and has not been assigned a four-digit International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) location code. Therefore, international flights cannot be made there. ICAO recognizes Abkhazia as a constituent part of Georgia, and the code can only be assigned based on a petition from the authorized aviation authority.
