The plans of the de facto government in Nagorny Karabakh to open an airport near the region's capital, Stepanakert (called Khankendi by Azerbaijan), provoked considerable anger from the Azerbaijani authorities. Azerbaijan claims that the opening of the airport would be in violation of international legislation, as Nagorny Karabakh is not recognised by international law, and Azerbaijan has not authorised the flights to take place. At the height of tensions over the planned opening of the airport, the director of the Azerbaijani Civil Aviation Administration, Arif Mammadov, stated that Azerbaijan has the right to shoot down planes landing at the airport, which is on occupied territory. The Armenian authorities dismissed the comments. The Armenian president, Serzh Sargsyan, subsequently announced that he would be on the first passenger flight from Armenia to Nagorny Karabakh. Azerbaijan has now toned down its rhetoric and the authorities claim that they will use diplomatic means to prevent the opening of the airport. Mr Mammadov has since announced that the Azerbaijani government has reaffirmed with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) that no flights to Nagorny Karabakh have been authorised by officials in Azerbaijan. At the time of writing, the ICAO is looking into the matter.

The airport has been closed since the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the early 1990s. The de facto government in Nagorny Karabakh first announced that it was planning to open the airport in 2009. Construction work has been under way since then, including repairs to the runway and the construction of a new passenger terminal. The refurbishment of the airport is estimated to have cost around US$2.8m. There have been several delays in the opening of the airport: it was first expected to open in November 2010, then the opening date was pushed back to May 2011 and has since been pushed back further, and a date for the opening has not been specified. The de facto administration in Nagorny Karabakh insists that the latest delays are because of technical matters and are not because of Azerbaijan's strong statements against the opening of the airport. According to officials, the airport would only operate flights between Nagorny Karabakh and Armenia. The Nagorny Karabakh authorities set up a state-owned airline, Artsakh Air, in January 2011, which will be the sole operator at the airport.

Tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been elevated in recent months, and border skirmishes have increased. In March a nine-year-old Azerbaijani boy was killed, allegedly by sniper shots from an Armenian house, sparking a flare-up in tensions (April 2011, The political scene). Although the international community, particularly Russia, has continued to push for a breakthrough in the conflict, only limited progress has occurred in recent months. The unresolved issue of the airport in Nagorny Karabakh is another factor that will make it more difficult for a settlement to be reached. Nonetheless, although the airport issue has led to heightened tensions between the two countries, we believe that this is highly unlikely to lead to the renewal of fighting between the two sides, although the possibility of a further increase in skirmishes on the border cannot be ruled out.