Russian-occupied Abkhazia announces maintenance flights at Sokhumi Airport

Aslan Bzhania, the de facto president of Georgia’s Russian-controlled Abkhazia region, has announced maintenance flights in the Sokhumi Airport in a “few days”, which were initially scheduled to commence in July.

Bzhania told the domestic press the investor in the airport redevelopment, Rashid Rashidovich Nurgaliev, the son of former Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev, had “significantly upgraded” the airport’s infrastructure. “They secured backup power supply sources, purchased 24 transformers, built a new power line, and repaired two substations at their own expense,” Bzhania claimed.

The airport is being reconstructed by Infrastructure Development LLC, owned by Nurgaliev, with investment exceeding 12 billion rubles, according to Russia’s Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Dmitry Volvach. The first test flight from Russia to Sokhumi is anticipated this year.

However, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) does not recognize Sokhumi Airport as an international facility, aligning with Georgia’s territorial integrity. ICAO revoked the airport’s code and ceased its inclusion in official documentation in 2006. International norms prohibit opening the airspace over Abkhazia without Georgian consent.