Stepanakert Air Base
Encyclopedia
Stepanakert AirportStepanakert Airport ' onMouseout='HidePop("81261")' href="/topics/Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan
) is an airport
in Khojaly
, near Stepanakert
, the capital city
of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
(NKR), a de facto independent republic which territory is de-jure recognized as a part of Azerbaijan
. The airport has been under the control of the NKR since the ceasefire agreement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh War
in 1994. In 2009, facilities reconstruction and repair work began. Though originally scheduled to launch the first commercial flights on May 9, 2011, Karabakh officials have recently postponed and refused to assign a new reopening date.
of 2001 feet (610 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
designated 05/23 with an asphalt
surface measuring 2178 by 37 m (7,145.7 by 121.4 ).
of the Nagorno-Karabakh War
in 1994.
It is expected that Karabakh will have a regular flight services only to Yerevan
, Armenia
, and a state owned carrier, Artsakh Air
was created on January 26, 2011 and intends to purchase 3 Bombardier CRJ200
jets. Officials have said only that a one-way air ticket to the Armenian capital will cost 16,000 drams ($45 USD).
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 will take place during the 2011 summer. NKR officials also insisted that the postponement was not related to the dispute with Azerbaijan.
, director of Azerbaijan’s Civil Aviation Administration
warned that according to law on aviation
, 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 NKR armed forces "will give an adequate response" if Azerbaijan attempts to shoot down an aircraft. President of Armenia
Serzh 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 possible provocation on the part of Armenia. A few days later, spokesman of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Elkhan Polukhov, declared that “Azerbaijan did not and will not use force against civil facilities.”
The United States Assistant Secretary, Philip Gordon
, as well as ambassadors to Azerbaijan and Armenia, Matthew Bryza
and Marie Yovanovitch
, characterized that threat as "unacceptable"; and advised that issues related to the security of the airport should be solved before its opening.
Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoğlu
, expressed support for Azerbaijan. He said “that such provocative actions will not serve to promote the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict," and called Armenia to "to stop such provocative steps.”
GUAM
Secretary General Valeri Chechelashvil said 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
(PACE) 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.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
) is an airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
in Khojaly
Khojali (city)
Khojali or Ivanyan , also, Ay-Khodzhaly, Khodgalou, Khodzhalv, Khodzhaly, Khojalu, and Khozhali, is a town in Nagorno Karabakh, located some 10 km northeast of its capital Stepanakert...
, near Stepanakert
Stepanakert
Stepanakert is the largest city and capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, a de facto independent republic, though is internationally recognized as a part of Azerbaijan...
, the capital city
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic , or Artsakh Republic is a de facto independent republic located in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia...
(NKR), a de facto independent republic which territory is de-jure recognized as a part of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
. The airport has been under the control of the NKR since the ceasefire agreement
Bishkek Protocol
Bishkek Protocol is a provisional ceasefire agreement, signed by representatives of Republic of Armenia , unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh , Republic of Azerbaijan and Russia's representative to the CSCE Minsk Group Vladimir Kazimirov on May 5, 1994...
of the Nagorno-Karabakh War
Nagorno-Karabakh War
The Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan...
in 1994. In 2009, facilities reconstruction and repair work began. Though originally scheduled to launch the first commercial flights on May 9, 2011, Karabakh officials have recently postponed and refused to assign a new reopening date.
Facilities
The airport resides at an elevationElevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 2001 feet (610 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
designated 05/23 with an asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
surface measuring 2178 by 37 m (7,145.7 by 121.4 ).
History
By the end of 1980 the airport served a regular passenger flights Yerevan - Stepanakert . With the Karabakh conflict and the constituted authorities of the Azerbaijan Soviet blockade of the Armenian SSR and NKAO airport was the only means of communication blockaded the region with the outside world. The airport has been under the control of the NKR since the ceasefire agreementBishkek Protocol
Bishkek Protocol is a provisional ceasefire agreement, signed by representatives of Republic of Armenia , unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh , Republic of Azerbaijan and Russia's representative to the CSCE Minsk Group Vladimir Kazimirov on May 5, 1994...
of the Nagorno-Karabakh War
Nagorno-Karabakh War
The Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan...
in 1994.
Renovation
In 2009, work began on the construction of a new passenger terminal. Repair work is also being conducted on the main runway. According to Karabakh’s Urban Development Minister Karen Shahramanian, work on the terminal building will be completed in November 2010, however this has now been delayed until April 2011. Air navigation equipment is also being installed there. The newly renovated airport will be capable of receiving 200 passengers every hour.It is expected that Karabakh will have a regular flight services only to Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
, Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, and a state owned carrier, Artsakh Air
Artsakh Air
Artsakh Air, also referred to as Artsakhavia, is a new airline scheduled to operate from the newly rebuilt airport in Stepanakert in the fall of 2011. It has a head office on the grounds of Stepanakert Airport...
was created on January 26, 2011 and intends to purchase 3 Bombardier CRJ200
Bombardier CRJ200
The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 are a family of regional airliner manufactured by Bombardier, and based on the Canadair Challenger business jet.-Development:...
jets. Officials have said only that a one-way air ticket to the Armenian capital will cost 16,000 drams ($45 USD).
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 will take place during the 2011 summer. NKR officials also insisted that the postponement was not related to the dispute with Azerbaijan.
Reactions
Immediately after the NKR Civil Aviation Department's statement announcing the May 9, 2011 opening date of the newly-built airport in Stepanakert, Arif MammadovArif Mammadov
Arif Mammadov Ahmad oglu is an Azerbaijani politician who serves as the Director of State Civil Aviation Administration of Azerbaijan Republic.-Political career:...
, director of Azerbaijan’s Civil Aviation Administration
State Civil Aviation Administration (Azerbaijan)
The State Civil Aviation Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan is a governmental agency within the Cabinet of Azerbaijan in charge of regulating activities in the sphere of civil aviation in Azerbaijan Republic. The agency is headed by Arif Mammadov....
warned that according to law on aviation
Aviation law
Aviation law is the branch of law that concerns flight, air travel, and associated legal and business concerns. Some of its area of concern overlaps that of admiralty law and in many cases, aviation law is considered a matter of international law due to the nature of air travel. However, the...
, 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 NKR armed forces "will give an adequate response" if Azerbaijan attempts to shoot down an aircraft. President of Armenia
President of Armenia
President of Armenia is the title of the head of state of Armenia since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.-Democratic Republic of Armenia :*Avetis Aharonyan *Avetik Sahakyan *Avetis Aharonyan -Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and Armenian...
Serzh 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 possible provocation on the part of Armenia. A few days later, spokesman of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Elkhan Polukhov, declared that “Azerbaijan did not and will not use force against civil facilities.”
The United States Assistant Secretary, Philip Gordon
Philip Gordon
Philip H. "Phil" Gordon is an American diplomat, foreign policy expert, and the current Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.-Education:...
, as well as ambassadors to Azerbaijan and Armenia, Matthew Bryza
Matthew Bryza
Matthew James Bryza is a United States diplomat. Currently serves as the United States Ambassador to Azerbaijan.-Education:...
and Marie Yovanovitch
Marie L. Yovanovitch
Marie L. Yovanovitch is the present Ambassador from the United States of America to Armenia. Her term of appointment started August 1, 2008. She is the first woman to hold this position. She was previously Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan.Ms. Marie L...
, characterized that threat as "unacceptable"; and advised that issues related to the security of the airport should be solved before its opening.
Turkish Foreign Minister
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Turkey)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a government ministry office of the Republic of Turkey, responsible for foreign affairs in Turkey. Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu is current Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, appointed on May 1, 2009....
Ahmet Davutoğlu
Ahmet Davutoglu
Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu is a Turkish political scientist, an academic and an ambassador. On May 1, 2009, he was named Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey after being the chief advisor to the Prime Minister of Republic of Turkey.-Life and career:...
, expressed support for Azerbaijan. He said “that such provocative actions will not serve to promote the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict," and called Armenia to "to stop such provocative steps.”
GUAM
GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development
The GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development is a regional organization of four post-Soviet states: Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova....
Secretary General Valeri Chechelashvil said 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
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
(PACE) 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
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
. The declaration required Yerevan to stop the airport construction.