Russia to reopen southern airport for the first time since outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine

Russia's Pashkovsky Airport in the city of Krasnodar will reopen on Friday, December 15. The airport will open for a test flight, Krasnodar region Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said.

An Azimut airline plane will arrive at Pashkovsky Airport from Moscow. The airplane will not have any passengers on board. The safety of flights to Southern Russia has been verified, and a test flight is required to complete the procedure.

Krasnodar's Pashkovsky Airport was closed soon after Russia started its special military operation in Ukraine.

Pilots have already received instructions to resume flights. A source told Shot Telegram channel that the airport would reopen entirely on December 25.

Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) has not released an official comment about the reopening of Krasnodar's Pashkovsky Airport.

The only airport that remains operational in Southern Russia (aka the Southern Federal District) is the Sochi Airport.

The Krasnodar airport ceased operations after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The Federal Air Transport Agency also ordered to close ten other airports in the region. It goes about airports of Rostov, Anapa, Gelendzhik, Elista, Stavropol, Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Voronezh and Simferopol.