Georgia noted toothless criticism of flights between Abkhazia and Russia

On May 1, after a 32-year hiatus, Russia resumed flights to Abkhazia. The first flight was performed by YUVT Aero, with 49 passengers on board the Bombardier aircraft. In addition, Ifly and NordStar air carriers will fly to Sukhum. Against this background, Russian travel companies note an increase in Russians’ interest in holidays in Abkhazia by 30-40%. At the same time, criticism from Tbilisi and its partners turned out to be moderate.

Analyst Anton Krivenyuk told NG that talks about rebuilding the airport had been underway since 2005, but it was possible to complete the work only in 2024 thanks to a private investor from Russia. “The air harbor is located beyond Sukhum towards the Georgian border. It’s a depressed area. Even the ruins are visible on the recording of the plane landing. But there is nothing wrong with reopening the airport. On the contrary, it can become an incentive for the region’s recovery,” the expert said.

However, Krivenyuk suggested that the route with a transfer to Sochi would remain the most popular. For example, you can fly to Moscow from there for 5-7 thousand rubles, and a flight from Sukhum, according to the analyst’s forecast, will cost twice as much.

Meanwhile, the Georgian Foreign Ministry expressed concern about the current situation. “The illegal flight of a Russian airline to the occupied region of Abkhazia on May 1, 2025, as well as the so–called agreement concluded with the occupation regime on the transfer and operation of Sukhumi airport to Russia, are a gross violation of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the ministry said in a statement. The ministry also called on the international community to “properly assess and adequately respond” to Moscow’s actions.

In turn, Levan Davitashvili, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, stressed that companies violating the occupation law are prohibited from operating in the republic. “All the tools at our disposal have been used,” he said.

In this regard, it is worth noting that Aeroflot has announced that it has no plans to start flying to Abkhazia. The airline announced this after the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation disseminated information according to which the airline could start operating on May 31.

The EU also condemned Russia’s actions. “The European Union once again reaffirms its strong support for Georgia’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders,” said EU Spokesman for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Anouar El–Anouni.

Despite this, the Secretary of the Security Council of Abkhazia, Raul Lolua, said that international norms should work not for any country, but for people. “In Georgia, referring to the norms of international law, our airport was outlawed, but the norms of law should work for people and for people. The issue of people’s movement and their convenience is the main thing, and we are exercising this right together with Russia and with Russia’s help. And Georgia must come to terms with the fact that Abkhazia is an independent state,” Lolua announced.

At the same time, he accused Tbilisi of double standards. For example, the Georgian Dream government does not like that some Western countries are threatening it with sanctions, thereby trying to limit the sovereignty of the republic. But as soon as it comes to Abkhazia, Tbilisi resorts to the same methods.

Meanwhile, NG experts noted that the EU’s reaction to the reopening of the Sukhumi airport was not as harsh as it could have been, given the relations between Russia and the West. In particular, political analyst Gia Khukhashvili explained the toothless reaction of Brussels by the fact that Tbilisi does not want to go to confrontation with Moscow.

“The reaction of the West largely depends on the reaction of Georgia. If Tbilisi says the phrases on duty, what can its partners do? It would be strange if the US and the EU started waving their fists in such a situation,” the expert said.

At the same time, Khukhashvili believes that over the past few years, the ruling Georgian Dream has been trying to become one of the best partners of the Russian Federation. “For example, there are rumors in Georgia that Russia is building a military base in Abkhazia. But official Tbilisi refutes this and links the work carried out there with the construction of some kind of logistics center,” said Khukhashvili.

Alexander Krylov, Chief Researcher at the Caucasus Sector of the IMEMO RAS Center for Post-Soviet Studies, agrees with this interpretation of events. However, he focuses not on the contradictory behavior of the Georgian Dream, but on the EU’s unwillingness to support the foreign policy course of the republic’s authorities.

“Brussels does not recognize the parliamentary elections held in Georgia, the new Georgian government and the president. In this regard, the Georgian problems ceased to interest him, and he limited himself to a protocol statement. If ex-President Salome Zurabishvili were in power now and Tbilisi was ready to go to war with Moscow, the EU would do everything to escalate the situation. In this context, the airport theme would be very useful,” Krylov said.

At the same time, the expert considered the statements of the Georgian authorities to be quite moderate. “They are against it and continue to call for the restoration of the territorial integrity of their country, but that’s it. It is clear that the Georgian Dream is unhappy with what has happened, but it is not interested in escalating the conflict,” Krylov concluded.