It's a matter of weeks: Sadovyi told when the airports "Lviv" and "Boryspil" will resume operations
Kyiv • UNN
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi stated that the airports "Lviv" and "Boryspil" are ready for operation and can resume flights within a few weeks after security issues are resolved. At the same time, Ukrainian airlines complain about pressure from the BEB, which threatens the existence of the civil aviation industry due to a new interpretation of leasing taxation.
The "Lviv" and "Boryspil" airports could resume operations within a few weeks, immediately after security issues are resolved. This was stated by Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi. At the same time, Ukrainian airlines report pressure from law enforcement agencies and a threat to the existence of the civil aviation industry, writes UNN.
"Both Lviv Airport and Boryspil Airport are in working condition. As soon as security issues are resolved, I think these airports will be able to resume operations. We are talking about weeks, not months, as soon as security issues are resolved," – cites Sadovyi, according to RBC-Ukraine.
For the state, this means the possibility of a rapid resumption of passenger air transportation. However, for Ukrainian carriers, the main issue remains not the readiness of airports, but, in fact, survival.
Will airlines that have relocated their operations abroad due to the war and the closed sky be able to resume flights in Ukraine? Because otherwise, foreign carriers will fly instead of them, and Ukraine risks losing its own civil aviation fleet, personnel, and tax revenues.
This question arose after industry representatives reported pressure from the Bureau of Economic Security, which threatens the existence of the entire civil aviation industry.
The BES is investigating a number of criminal proceedings against Ukrainian airlines, believing that carriers should have paid an additional 15% tax on non-resident income, since payments for aircraft leases are allegedly royalties. At least 5 carriers have suffered from this approach, including MAU, Avia Company Constanta, Urga, H3Operations, and Skyline. Lawyers, auditors, and tax consultants emphasize that this interpretation contradicts Ukrainian tax legislation, international conventions on the avoidance of double taxation, and judicial practice.
"In Ukraine, civil aviation survived 2 years of COVID shocks, the war began, an even stronger blow, but, nevertheless, Ukrainian airlines are surviving. And now there is a high probability that they will not survive," – noted during a round table the executive director of the Public Union "Ukrainian Air Transport Association" Mykola Shcherbyna.
The association emphasizes that if, due to the new interpretation of the BES, leasing taxation is applied without any changes to Ukrainian tax legislation in this part, airlines will be forced to pay an additional 15% royalty for the last 7 years – this will lead to the bankruptcy of the carriers.
"We communicate with financiers, tax officials, lawyers of the 'Big Four', in Ukraine and abroad, in no country in the world is the leasing of aircraft called royalties, in no country in the world," – emphasized the head of the legal committee of the Aerospace Association of Ukraine Ruslan Melnychenko.
Separately, he drew attention to the fact that they are trying to apply a new approach to airlines retroactively.
At the same time, the head of the State Aviation Service of Ukraine Daniil Menshykov noted that aviation did not ask for help from the state during the war, and the only thing the state can do now is not to interfere with its work and not create additional legal uncertainty.
"Ukrainian airlines will be the first to enter the market after the sky opens. That is why we need clear rules for everyone. I am convinced that such issues should be resolved through a professional dialogue between the state, business, associations, and the expert community. Unity of approaches, legal certainty, and decisions that take into account the strategic importance of aviation for Ukraine are needed," - he noted.
In addition, according to his data, despite the war and the closed sky, the industry continues to fill the Ukrainian budget.
"It is also important to speak the language of facts: Ukrainian airlines continue to pay taxes. According to information provided by the State Tax Service, in 2022-2025 the industry paid almost UAH 27 billion in taxes and fees to the budget," – reported Menshykov.
So the state can open airports within a few weeks after the restoration of flight safety, but if the pressure on Ukrainian carriers is not stopped now, after the opening of the skies, it will obviously be non-Ukrainian companies that will fly.