On 26 July the Moscow-backed leadership of occupied Abkhazia issued a decree to reopen the “Vladislav Ardzinba Sokhumi International Airport” for international flights, reported civil.ge.

According to the decree, the Sokhumi airport was assigned a Russian Federation four-letter code “URAS”, in compliance with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), where “U”-stands for former Soviet union and “R” for Rostov (southern Russia) airspace control area. The last official ICAO assigned code for the Sokhumi Babushera airport was UGSS (where G stands for Georgia). On the same day the Abkhazian authorities approved another document which designates the airport for joint civil and military use.

The de facto Abkhazian government needs to apply to Russia in order to get this code accepted. The de facto President of the internationally unacknowledged republic of Abkhazia, Raul Khajimba, commented on this decree.  “Some questions arise about how it will affect our sovereignty. As soon as the issue of decoding was raised, as soon as the words “Rostov” and “Russia” appeared, certain suppositions emerged whether it would mean the loss of sovereignty. Russia itself recognized us and it is doing its best to ensure that we are established. It allocates financial aid and creates all necessary conditions for operation of such enterprises on our territory. The question is about strengthening our ties that will help us accept tourists and investors, as well as improve our budget,” he said.

On 29 July the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacted to the decree. “According to the charter of the ICAO, the Sokhumi Airport and the relevant airspace have been closed by the Georgian side since 1993. It is not certified by the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency (GCAA). Furthermore, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recognizes Abkhazia as a part of Georgia. Accordingly, international flights cannot be implemented there, as it is against international law, the charter of ICAO, and Georgian legislation,” read the official statement of the ministry.

The De Facto Foreign Minister of the occupied Abkhazia Region, Daura Kove, responded to this statement. “The dogs bark but the caravan moves on. The Georgian Foreign Ministry's statement on the unacceptability of international air traffic between Abkhazia and other countries is yet another usual attempt to isolate Abkhazia from the world. They will not be successful.” stated Kove’s facebook post.

The Sokhumi airport was closed since 1993. In 2008 the Georgian government adopted the Law on Occupied Territories that banned international flights to and from Abkhazia.

The government of occupied Abkhazia has long been trying to restore the Sokhumi airport. Sergey Bagapsh, late leader of occupied Abkhazia, announced the plans on resuming the airport’s operation back in 2006. In 2009, Bagapsh said that authority over Abkhazia's railway and airport would be transferred to Russia with management rights for ten years. In 2011, Apsnypress news agency reported that Russian airport operator Novaport would take over the airport under a long-term lease agreement. It was reported in 2014 that a “letter of intent” was signed with the Krasnodar-based company Airport Development on the reconstruction of the airport.