Aurora (HZ, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) has commenced test flights to the recently commissioned Iturup airport located on the disputed South Kuril Islands in anticipation of the launch of scheduled flights there. The new airfield replaces the Soviet-era Iturup Island Burevestnik AFB airport which was subject to severe weather hazards such as dense fog thereby limiting its accessibility.

According to Russia's Far Eastern Komsolsk press, the Aeroflot (SU, Moscow Sheremetyevo) subsidiary plans to transfer its sole flight to the island - from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - in due course.

Despite its disputed nature, Russia plans to eventually open up the airport to flights to Khabarovsk Novy, Vladivostok, and Japan.

Located just 190km from Hokkaidō Island, Japan claims the two southernmost Kuril islands of Iturup and Kunashir, as well as the Shikotan and Habomai islets, as part of its territory.