Sukhumi Babushara Airport

Sukhumi Babushara Airport
Summary
Airport type Public / Military
Serves Sukhumi
Location Abkhazia,[1] Georgia
Elevation AMSL 53 ft / 16 m
Coordinates 42°51′29″N 041°07′41″E / 42.85806°N 41.12806°E / 42.85806; 41.12806
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
12/30 3,661 12,012 Concrete
Source: DAFIF[2]

Sukhumi Babushara Airport (IATA: SUI, ICAO: UGSS),[3] previously known as Sukhumi Dranda Airport, is the main airport of Abkhazia. It is located in the village of Babushara next to the larger village of Dranda and some 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Sukhumi, the capital of the autonomous republic.

History

The 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 civil war in the early 1990s. Land mines and other explosive remnants of war have been cleared from the airport since by the HALO Trust, the only land mine clearance agency active in Abkhazia at the present time.

The airport is currently only used for flights to the mountain village of Pskhu and for flights carried out by Russian Air Force.

In 2006 the government of the Republic of Abkhazia expressed its desire to resume international air traffic in the future,[4] however the facility is not recognized as an international airport by ICAO and flights can only be allowed with the permission of the Georgian government.

There is another airport in Abkhazia near Gudauta, which serves Russian military troops located there.

In July 2011, Russia-based Novaport took over the Sukhumi Babushara Airport.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Abkhazia is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of Georgia. The Republic of Abkhazia unilaterally declared independence on 23 July 1992, but Georgia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. Abkhazia has received formal recognition as an independent state from 7 out of 193 United Nations member states, 2 of which have subsequently withdrawn their recognition.
  2. ↑ Airport information for Sukhumi Dranda Airport (UG29) from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
  3. ↑ Accident history for Sukhumi-Babusheri Airport (SUI / UGSS) at Aviation Safety Network
  4. ↑ "Sukhum's Airport May Soon Resume Operation". News release. Administration of the President of the Republic of Abkhazia. 2006-12-20. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28.
  5. ↑ "Russia's Novaport to Take Over Abkhaz Airport". Civil.ge. 22 July 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
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