The airfield is located next to the coast, in the Nakhimov District of Sevastopol, north of the city centre, close to the adjacent neighbourhood of Lyubimovka.
The Belbek airfield was built as an operational airfield in 1938; in the summer of that year, the 3rd and 4th aviation squadrons of the 32nd Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force landed on it for the first time in I-15bis aircraft. In the summer of 1939, one squadron of fighters was on duty at the airfield.
In 1940, experiments were conducted on suspending I-16 fighters from TB-3 aircraft, the Zveno project. The TB-3 carrier bomber theoretically delivered the attached I-16 fighters, armed with bombs, to the target. The I-16s acted in this case as dive bombers. Work continued until January 1941. The base airfield of the "SPB link" was the Evpatoria airfield, and the 2nd Squadron of the 32nd IAP, which took part in these experiments, was at that time stationed at Belbek airfield. Also located there were the 3rd Squadron on I-153s and the regiment's command and control unit.
Originally built without a hardened runway, the airfield received a concrete runway after the war.
In 1947, the Black Sea Fleet's 62nd Fighter Aviation Regiment arrived at the base. In 1960, the regiment was transferred from the Soviet Navy to the Soviet Air Defence Forces.[2]
During the second half of the 1980s, after Mikhail Gorbachev came to power, the airfield was significantly expanded and upgraded, as it was to be used by him when travelling to the presidential dacha on the southern coast of Crimea, near Cape Foros. The name of the airport comes from the Belbek River, in the southwest of Crimea.
After Ukrainian independence in 1991, the airfield was under Ukrainian military control, with concurrent use as a civilian airport for a few years.
After Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014, the Sevastopol transportation authorities stated that Belbek airport was used for civilian charter flights from Ukraine and Russia.[3]
2002–2007: International airport
From July 2002, the airfield began to be used for civil aviation. In December 2002, the airport received a licence for international flights. Between 2002 and 2007, over 2,500 flights were carried out, transporting about 25,000 passengers. During 2007, civil flights were suspended again. In spring 2009, it was announced that flights were to resume in the near future, but this did not happen.
Ukrainian military use of the airfield as a fighter airbase continued alongside its civilian use. In 1996, the Su-15TM aircraft based there were replaced by the Su-27, and until 2014 the 204th Tactical Aviation Brigade flying the MiG-29 was based there.
Russian military control
On 28 February 2014, Ukraine's acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov stated that the airport had been blocked by Russian Military personnel, and unidentified armed men were patrolling the area. He said via his Twitter account: "I can only describe this as a military invasion and occupation". Neither the Russian Foreign Ministry nor the Russian Defence Ministry responded to requests for comment.[4][5]
On 11 March 2014, a website was established[6] by military personnel to report directly on current and former events at the airfield. According to the website, there had been a fire at the airfield in the military area (воинская часть, Military Unit Number, А-4515) where electrical equipment was stored, with some unknown soldiers guarding it. The site was updated several times and discontinued in 2016.[6]
On 14 March 2014, Ukrainian Colonel Yuliy Mamchur made an appeal on YouTube to the Ukrainian government, requesting written orders for all Ukrainian troops on the Crimean peninsula. He stated that if he did not receive orders, the 204th Tactical Aviation Brigade would fight, even if facing likely defeat.[7][bettersourceneeded]
The 204th Tactical Aviation Brigade had been deployed in Belbek since December 2007 in military area number A4515 (воинская часть A-4515).[8]
On 1 October 2022, an explosion was reported, which the Russian news agency TASS attributed to an aircraft that ran off the runway while landing, without damaging the airfield.[11]
In January 2017, the company managing the airport presented public plans to open a new temporary terminal with a capacity of 300,000–400,000 passengers by 2018, with a full-size terminal to follow by 2019 or 2020.[12] These plans were not implemented.
NASA's FIRMS imagery from 15 May 00:16:00 (UTC) showing fires at the airbase
On 15 May 2024, Ukraine launched a missile strike against the airbase, reportedly destroying two MiG-31 fighter jets on the ground, wounding 11 soldiers, and igniting a fire at a fuel and lubricant depot serving the airbase.[13]
On 18 December 2025 Ukraine claimed it had struck the airport the previous night and released video stills appearing to show that it had destroyed a MiG-31, a Pantsir-S2 air defence system, Nebo-SVU radar system and a radar associated with the s-400 air defence system.[14] Video from local residents was consistent with some kind of attack taking place.[14]
Airlines and destinations
As of 2015, there were no scheduled flights to or from the airport.[15][16][17]
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