The airport was built in the mid-1960s, when the region was part of the Soviet Union.

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.

[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.

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