Russian officials from the Ministry of Transportation announced today that Gelendzhik airport in Southern Russia will reopen for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Gelendzhik is a popular Black Sea resort town that lies 100 km (60 miles) from Ukraine and has a population of approximately 75,000.
“The airport is one of 11 airports in southern Russia that have not accepted aircraft since 2022 for safety reasons. The airport is scheduled to open for domestic flights in the near future,” the ministry said in comments reported by the AFP.
Flights from Moscow to Gelendzhik may resume as early as July 18, and the airport will only operate during daylight hours, from 08:30 am to 08:00 pm.
Meanwhile, Russia’s other airports have consistently been closed and flights delayed or cancelled due to the threat from Ukrainian drones.
On July 6, Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) announced “temporary restrictions” for St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport at around 10:15 p.m., which were lifted at 12:30 a.m.
On July 5, Rosaviatsia said that as of 9:00 p.m., 174 flights were cancelled at the city’s Sheremetyevo Airport (80% of which were operated by Russia’s state-owned Aeroflot) while another 47 were delayed for more than two hours.
Ukraine’s airspace has been completely closed since 2022. In 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, announced that Ukraine would aim to reopen Boryspil International Airport, but the plan never materialized. In late 2024, a risk management expert proposed reopening Lviv’s airport to international travel.
Russia has increased its attacks on Ukrainian cities, launching a record 741 drones and missiles on Tuesday.