This article is published in Aviation Week & Space Technology and is free to read until Jul 19, 2024. If you want to read more articles from this publication, please click the link to subscribe.
A building at Kherson International Airport, Ukraine, Nov. 19, 2022
Ukraine’s airports are seeking financial support from the European Union (EU) and others as the country looks to partially re-open airspace that was closed to commercial flights after Russia’s invasion in 2022.
Ukraine deputy finance minister Alexandrer Kava estimates the cost of airport recovery and reconstruction will be $1.68 billion. Some airports have been destroyed.
Speaking at the recent ACI-Europe Annual Congress and General Assembly in Istanbul, Kava said he hoped some commercial flights might resume “by the end of this year or early next year” under an “optimistic” scenario.
To that end, Ukraine has completed risk assessments and compiled a safety case with concept of operations. The safety case must be agreed to by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Eurocontrol, FAA and IATA. Enhanced air defenses will also be needed at Kyiv-Boryspil (KBP) and Lviv (LWO), which used to be the country’s busiest airports.
Talks have also begun with insurers, lessors and airlines about resuming commercial flights.
Before the invasion, six airports handled 98% of Ukrainian commercial air traffic: KBP, LWO, Kyiv Zhuliany (IEV), Odesa (ODS), Kharkiv (HRK) and Zaporizhzhia (OZH).
“We would very much appreciate if the European Union and other partners would support Ukrainian airports financially to keep them ready to resume operations because we expect that after the war ends, demand to fly to Ukraine will grow significantly,” Kava said.
Related Content
