Sokhumi Babushara Airport
IATA: SUI ICAO: UGSS
Summary
Airport type	Public / Military
Serves	Sukhumi
Location	Abkhazia / Georgia[1]
Time zone	Moscow Time (UTC+3)
Elevation AMSL	65 ft / 20 m
Coordinates	42°51′29″N 041°07′41″E / 42.85806°N 41.12806°E / 42.85806; 41.12806
Website	https://sukhumaero.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 12/30 3,145 10,301 Concrete
Source: DAFIF[2]

Sukhumi Babushara Airport (IATA: SUI, ICAO: UGSS),^[3] previously known as Sukhumi Dranda Airport, and also known as Vladislav Ardzinba Sokhumi International Airport (ICAO: URAS),^[4] 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 republic.

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 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.

From 1993 to 2025 the airport was used only for flights to the mountain village of Pskhu and for flights carried out by Russian Air Force.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, the government of the Republic of Abkhazia expressed its desire to resume international air traffic in the future;^[5] 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.^[6]

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

In July 2019, the leadership of Abkhazia issued a decree to open the "Vladislav Ardzinba Sukhumi International Airport" for international flights.^[7]

In July 2023, the People's Assembly of Abkhazia ratified an agreement that will allow a Russian investor to reconstruct the airport.^[8]

On February 7, 2025, there was a test flight from Moscow Vnukovo airport.^[9] The first scheduled flight was on May 1.^[10]

1982 Sukhumi Dranda Airport runway collision

Panorama of Sukhumi Airport
Accident
Date	August 14, 1982 (1982-08-14)
Summary	Runway collision due to pilot error and air traffic controller error
Site	Babushera Airport (Gulripshi District, Abkhaz ASSR, Georgian SSR, USSR) 42°51′46.57″N 41°7′5.39″E / 42.8629361°N 41.1181639°E / 42.8629361; 41.1181639
Total fatalities	11 (Let L-410M Turbolet)
Total survivors	82 (Tupolev Tu-134A)
First aircraft
Tupolev Tu-134A of Aeroflot
Type	Tupolev Tu-134A
Operator	Aeroflot (Georgian UGA, Sukhumi Joint Aviation Detachment)
Registration	CCCP-65836
Flight origin	Babushera Airport, Sukhumi (Abkhaz ASSR, Georgian SSR)
Destination	Vnukovo Airport, Moscow (RSFSR)
Occupants	82
Passengers	76
Crew	6
Fatalities	0
Survivors	82
Second aircraft
Let L-410M of Aeroflot
Type	Let L-410M Turbolet
Operator	Aeroflot (Georgian UGA, Sukhumi Joint Aviation Detachment)
Registration	CCCP-67191
Flight origin	Babushera Airport, Sukhumi (Abkhaz ASSR, Georgian SSR)
Destination	Kopitnari Airport, Kutaisi (Georgian SSR)
Occupants	11
Passengers	9
Crew	2
Fatalities	11
Survivors	0

The 1982 Sukhumi Dranda Airport runway collision was an aviation accident that occurred on August 14, 1982, when two airliners collided on a runway at Babushera Airport. The aircraft involved were a Tu-134A and a Let L-410M operated by "Aeroflot" on flights 974 (Sukhumi to Moscow) and G-73 (Sukhumi to Kutaisi). The collision resulted in the deaths of 11 people—all 9 passengers and both pilots on the L-410.

The Tu-134A (registration number CCCP-65836, factory number 17113, serial number 25-08) was manufactured by the Kharkov State Aviation Production Enterprise (KhGAPP) on August 23, 1974. On 3 September of the same year, it was delivered to the airline "Aeroflot" (Georgian UGA, Sukhumi Joint Aviation Detachment). It was equipped with two Soloviev D-30 engines produced by the Perm Motor Plant. By the day of the accident, it had completed 10,406 flight cycles and had flown 17,003 hours.^[11]

The Let L-410M Turbolet (registration number CCCP-67191, factory number 781120, serial number 11-20) was manufactured by the Czechoslovak plant "Let" in 1979 (first flight on February 7). On 18 April of the same year, it was delivered to the customer — the MGA USSR, which assigned it to the Sukhumi Joint Aviation Detachment of the Georgian UGA. By the day of the accident, it had completed 4,098 flight cycles and had flown 2,738 hours.^[12]

Speculation about the establishment of Abkhazian Airlines and also the opening of new destination in Russia like Ufa And Kazan for Ikar (airline).

• 1993 Sukhumi airliner attacks

• "Collision of Tu-134A and L-410M of Georgian UGA at Sukhumi Airport". Airdisaster.ru. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
• "Aircraft accident Let L-410M CCCP-67191 Sukhumi-Babusheri Airport (SUI)". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
• "Aircraft accident Tupolev 134A CCCP-65836 Sukhumi-Babusheri Airport (SUI)". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.