One of the airports in Ukraine may be opened for civilian flights before the end of the war, provided there is a significant strengthening of air defense and protection of Ukrainian airspace.
This was stated by the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, during a speech at the Hudson Institute as part of his trip to the United States.
“The strengthening of air defense will be a guarantee of recovery. A reliable umbrella is needed for the restoration of Ukraine. In particular, its reinforcement will allow us to reopen one of the airports in Ukraine. We are already working on this with our partners. This is a sign that a turning point in the war is approaching”, he said.
According to Yermak, the year 2023 will be decisive in this matter. However, the head of the Presidential Office did not specify specific timelines. Civil aviation flights in Ukraine were completely closed on February 24, 2022.
Earlier, among the possible cities from which flights could resume, airports in Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, and Uzhgorod were mentioned. It is worth noting that in July 2023, the CEO of the airline Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, stated that the low-cost carrier is considering the possibility of resuming flights to Kyiv and Lviv by the end of 2023. According to O’Leary, there are two possible scenarios. After the end of the war, the airline may be able to resume flights in a short period, but most likely, a small number of Ryanair flights may be planned by the end of 2023.
Photo: Open sources
