From 20 to 23 September 1993, during the Sukhumi massacre, separatists in Sukhumi, Abkhazia blocked Georgian troops' overland supply routes as part of the war in Abkhazia. In response, the Georgian government used Sukhumi Babushara Airport to ferry supplies to troops stationed in Sukhumi. Abkhaz forces attacked the airport in an attempt to further block the supply routes.

During the siege of the airport, five civilian airliners belonging to Transair Georgia and Orbi Georgian Airways were hit by missiles allegedly fired by separatists in Sukhumi. Over 150 people died in the attacks.