Stepanakert Airport is an airport in Khojaly, near Stepanakert, the capital city of the de facto independent Republic of Artsakh. The airport, in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, has been under the control of the Republic since 1992. Flights ceased to take place with the escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1990. As the airport lies within the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan, and the current government is unrecognized, there are no codes for the airport in the official IATA list. In 2009, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic authorities began the reconstruction of the facilities. Though it was scheduled to launch the first commercial flights on May 9, 2011, NKR officials postponed a new reopening date throughout the whole of 2011. In May 2012, the director of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Civil Aviation Administration, Tigran Gabrielyan, announced that the airport would begin operations in mid-2012. However the airport remains closed due to security reasons.
By the end of 1980 the airport served regular passenger flights from Yerevan to Stepanakert. With the escalation of the Karabakh conflict, the constituted authorities of the Azerbaijan SSR blockaded of the Armenian SSR; the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast airport was the only means of communication with the outside world from the Karabakh region. The airport has been under the control of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic since the ceasefire agreement of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994.
Renovation
In 2009, the construction of a new passenger terminal began. Repair work was also conducted on the main runway. According to Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Urban Development Minister Karen Shahramanian, the terminal building would be completed in November 2010; however this had been delayed until April 2011. Air navigation equipment was also installed. The authorities claim that the renovated airport will be capable of receiving 200 passengers every hour. On April 5, 2011 it was announced that the opening of the airport was postponed. Dmitry Adbashyan, the head of NKR Civil Aviation Service announced that the airport launch would be taken place during the 2011 summer. NKR officials also insisted that the postponement was not related to the ongoing dispute with Azerbaijan.
Reactions
Shortly after the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Civil Aviation Department's statement announcing the May 9, 2011 opening date, Arif Mammadov, director of Azerbaijan's Civil Aviation Administration warned that according to aviation laws, flights from Yerevan to Stepanakert are not authorized and may be shot down. The NKR response came from David Babayan, head of the central information department of the NKR President's office, who said that the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army "will give an adequate response" if Azerbaijan attempts to shoot down an aircraft. President of ArmeniaSerzh Sargsyan condemned the threat to shoot down civilian aircraft, dismissing it as "nonsense". Sargsyan also said that he would be the first passenger on inaugural Yerevan-Stepanakert flight. The Azerbaijani presidential administration condemned Sargsyan's statement as a provocation on the part of Armenia. A few days later, Elkhan Polukhov, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, declared that “Azerbaijan did not and will not use force against civil facilities.” The United StatesAssistant Secretary, Philip Gordon, as well as then ambassadors to Azerbaijan and Armenia, Matthew Bryza and Marie L. Yovanovitch, respectively, characterized that threat as "unacceptable"; and advised that issues related to the security of the airport should be solved before its opening. The OSCE Minsk Group, which mediates the conflict, reaffirmed that the operation of this airport could not be used to support any claim of a change in the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, and urged the sides to act in accordance with international law and consistent with current practice for flights over their territory. A number of individuals and groups have openly voiced their opposition to the opening of the airport, including the United States ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar who stated in November 2012 he was "convinced that the functioning of the airport would not help the peace process." Turkish Foreign MinisterAhmet Davutoğlu, who stated “that such provocative actions will not serve to promote the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict," and called on Armenia "to stop such provocative steps.” The GUAM's Secretary General Valeri Chechelashvili responded by stating that the airport was within the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan and can not operate without Azerbaijan's permission. On April 14, 2011, twenty-three members from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe endorsed a declaration condemning "the construction by Armenia of an airport in the occupied Azerbaijani territories." The document stresses that the construction is contrary to the norms of international law. The declaration required Yerevan to stop the airport construction. The Turkish government condemned the efforts of Armenia to open the airport, and reiterated that it will close its air space to Armenia, if the opening goes ahead.
Airlines and destinations
It is expected that Karabakh will have a regular flight services only to Yerevan, Armenia, with a state-owned carrier called Artsakh Air. Created on January 26, 2011, it intended to purchase three Bombardier CRJ200 jets in 2011. Officials have only stated that a one-way air ticket to the Armenian capital will cost 16,000 drams. As of May 2019, flights had not started.
