Poti International Airport

The airport, which was a Soviet-era military airbase, was abandoned following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The subsequent economic turmoil and lack of funding in newly independent Georgia prevented its conversion into a functional civilian airport, leading to its complete disuse and decay. It was not closed due to a specific accident or a single event, but rather a gradual decline and abandonment.

The site is completely abandoned and derelict. Satellite imagery of the coordinates (42.162902, 41.705807) clearly shows a decaying runway and taxiway system. The concrete surfaces are cracked, heavily weathered, and significantly overgrown with grass and other vegetation, making them unusable for any aviation purposes. The associated buildings, if any remain, are in a state of ruin. The land is currently unused.

The facility was originally a Soviet military airbase, part of the USSR's extensive military infrastructure in the Caucasus region. It likely served as a base for Soviet Air Force fighter or transport units. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was briefly under the control of the fledgling Georgian Air Force but quickly fell into disrepair due to a lack of resources. Its operational history is almost exclusively military, with no significant record of scheduled commercial or civilian passenger operations.

There are ambitious, though currently stalled, plans to build a completely new international airport on the land of the former airfield. In 2020, the Georgian government announced a major project in partnership with a private developer, Pace Group, to construct a new Poti International Airport. The plan included a new 2,500-meter runway and a modern terminal capable of handling up to one million passengers annually. The ICAO code GE-0009 was assigned to this new airport project. However, despite initial announcements and the granting of a construction permit, the project has faced significant delays and construction has not commenced as of early 2024. The future of the project remains uncertain.