Russia reopens Krasnodar International Airport after more than 2 years of wartime closure
The international airport in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar resumed operations on Sept. 11, more than two years after it was closed at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) announced.
Krasnodar is located about 245 kilometers (152 miles) from the Ukrainian border in a region that also borders Russian-occupied Crimea.
The airport was one of several in southern Russia and Russian-occupied territories that were shuttered on Feb. 24, 2022, when the invasion began. Although the closures were initially described as temporary, they were repeatedly extended and effectively became indefinite.
The first flight into Krasnodar, arriving from Moscow, is scheduled for Sept. 17. Russian state airline Aeroflot has also announced plans to resume international service from the airport later this month, with flights to Yerevan, Istanbul, and Dubai.
Despite the reopening, the region remains vulnerable to regular Ukrainian drone attacks.
Kyiv has regularly targeted Russian military and energy infrastructure with long-range drones in an effort to disrupt Moscow's war machine.
On Sept. 9, a drone attack on the Russian resort city of Sochi allegedly killed one person. Two days earlier, Ukrainian forces struck the Ilsky oil refinery, located in the same region.
In recent months, drone threats have also caused frequent disruptions at major Russian airports, including in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Several airports, including those in occupied Crimea, remain closed.
