MFA: Occupied Sokhumi airport cannot launch international flights
By Tea Mariamidze
Tuesday, July 30
Official Tbilisi made a comment in response to the released information in Russian media that a Russian investor is carrying out works in breakaway Sokhumi airport, which will be completed at the end of August.
As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia explains, according to the Law of Georgia on occupied Territories, the Abkhazian region and the airspace above it is under the regime of emergency, supported by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
The Foreign Ministry notes that the Georgian Transport Administration will use all of its leverage, including international mechanisms to ensure ICAO and international standards in breakaway Abkhazia airport, located in the village of Babushara next to the larger village of Dranda and around 20 kilometers away from occupied Sokhumi.
“Special emergency regime, imposed on Abkhazian region and its airspace in accordance with the Law of Georgia on Occupied Territories, prohibits international air traffic in the occupied territories… ICAO strongly supports Georgia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and the integrity of Georgia’s airspace,” the MFA said.
The ministry explains that according to the ICAO charter, Sokhumi Airport and relevant airspace have been closed since 1993. Thus, in the occupied Abkhazia region and in particular Sokhumi Airport, international flights will not be implemented because it contradicts international law, the ICAO charter and the Georgian legislation.
Georgian Civil Aviation Agency (GCAA) also released the statement regarding breakaway Sokhumi airport.
“No airline will be able to operate international airspace at Sokhumi Airport until Georgia makes a decision about it and supervision over the safety of flights are not be provided by the Georgian side,” the agency says.
Moreover, GCAA explains that Sokhumi Airport has not been assigned ICAO Airport four-letter location indicator code by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Assignment of the designation code is carried out solely based on respective Civil Aviation Authorities’ application.
“It is prohibited to use aerodromes, located on Georgian territory for civil aviation purposes unless the latter holds valid Aerodrome Operator Certificate, issued by the Civil Aviation Agency of Georgia. Issuance, prolongation, limitation, and restriction of the validity of Aerodrome Operator Certificates, as well as continuous surveillance over the activities of the aerodrome operators, is carried out by Georgian Civil Aviation Agency,” the statement added.
Breakaway Sokhumi airport was built in the mid-1960s when the region was part of the Soviet Union. In the Soviet era, it was used only for domestic flights, primarily to transport people from across the Soviet Union to the sunny beaches of Abkhazia.
The airport was heavily damaged during the Abkhazia war in the early 1990s.
In 2006 the de facto government of Abkhazia expressed its desire to resume international air traffic in the future; however, the facility is not recognized as an international airport by ICAO, and flights can be allowed only with the permission of the Georgian government.
In July 2011, Russia-based Novaport took over the Sukhumi Babushara Airport. In addition to this, occupied Sokhumi and Moscow signed an agreement in 2014, which envisaged cooperation for the reconstruction of Sokhumi airport; however, the talks about it have not been launched.
Russian media reported on July 26 that Sokhumi Airport was awarded the URAS international code. The URAS code is assigned to CIS countries. The information reads that occupied Sokhumi Airport was registered as the Rostov air zone.