Though originally scheduled to launch the first commercial flights on 9 May 2011, Artsakh officials postponed a new reopening date throughout the whole of 2011. In May 2012, the director of the Artsakh Civil Aviation Administration, Tigran Gabrielyan, announced that the airport would begin operations in mid-2012. However the airport still remains closed due to security reasons, as Azerbaijan has threatened to shoot down planes using the airport.