Resumption of airport operations in Ukraine: the Ministry of Community Development named the conditions

The issue of resuming operational activities of Ukrainian airports will be considered after the implementation of measures that will ensure an acceptable level of civil aviation flight safety. Other technical factors also influence this. This was reported to a UNN journalist by the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine in response to an inquiry.

Why the sky is closed

Due to the military invasion of the Russian Federation into the territory of Ukraine, its airspace has been classified as a conflict zone with a high degree of risk to civil aviation safety due to the presence of real threats to its operations.

It is noted that the State Aviation Service of Ukraine constantly assesses the level of threats and risks within the territory of Ukraine and its airspace.

Under what conditions will airports resume operation?

The Ministry of Communities Development emphasized that the issue of resuming operational activities of Ukrainian airports will be considered after the implementation of measures that will ensure an acceptable level of civil aviation flight safety.

At the same time, we note that the issue of resuming operational activities of Ukrainian airports will be considered after the implementation of measures that will ensure an acceptable level of civil aviation flight safety, as well as depending on factors such as infrastructure condition, passenger terminal and runway capacity, sufficient availability of qualified personnel for servicing passengers, baggage, cargo, as well as aircraft at the airfield and in the airspace, etc.

Resumption of flights to Ukraine: whose planes want to make the first air connections25.03.25, 15:46 • 250465 views

Situation with the airport in Lviv

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi stated in January 2025 that, in his opinion, several airports in Ukraine could start operating this year, as there are technical and other possibilities for this.

Also in January, it was reported that Lviv International Airport maintains its infrastructure in working condition and is exploring the possibility of resuming flights. The airport optimized its staff by 30% and trained 1300 aviation specialists.

Readiness of Boryspil Airport

In February of this year, the general director of Boryspil International Airport stated that the airport would be ready to resume receiving and sending passenger planes within a month of the opening of Ukrainian airspace.

Planes in the Ukrainian sky during the war

In July of this year, the network was stirred by a video of a plane over Kyiv. An An-124-100 "Ruslan" of Antonov Airlines flew in the sky.

Fedir Hryshchuk, a flightworthiness inspector of the State Aviation Service, later reported that the An-124-100 was then flying to Leipzig, where the Antonov company's fleet is currently based.

In April, the flight of an aircraft with the call sign Welcome, which was spotted over Lviv, was performed for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale war as part of the program of ground and flight inspection of aeronautical equipment in accordance with the Aviation Rules of Ukraine.

Addition

At the end of October 2024, Ukraine presented a roadmap for opening its airspace under martial law, presenting a step-by-step plan and needs for partial opening of the airspace.

Deputy Minister of Communities and Territories Development Timur Tkachenko reported at the end of November 2024 that all state bodies are working on the possibility of partially opening Ukraine's airspace, but due to the very high level of threats, this remains unlikely in the short term.

On November 7, Chrispin Ellison, a senior partner at the insurance brokerage firm Marsh McLennan, stated at the Kyiv International Economic Forum (KMEF) that there are 5-6 airlines that would like to start flying in Ukrainian airspace from January 2025. Boryspil Airport is the initial idea. But everything will depend on air defense.

In general, the idea of opening Ukraine's aviation space was first voiced on February 25, 2024, by the then Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction – Minister of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development Oleksandr Kubrakov. He then stated that Ukraine was holding consultations on the issue of opening aviation space.

Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak then emphasized that if Ukraine cannot guarantee security, the airspace will not be opened. However, opening one airport would be a powerful signal that Ukraine is recovering.

Addendum

In Ukraine, the aviation industry is sounding the alarm due to the risk of repeating the fate of the space industry and being virtually destroyed. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, civil aviation has been operating at the limit of its resources, many companies have disappeared, and the risk of losing engineering potential and human resources is growing. At the same time, the industry is critical for Ukraine's defense capability, as specialists provide repair and modernization of aircraft for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Air Force.

The most effective way to solve the urgent problems of aviation for its further existence and development, according to the Aerospace Association of Ukraine, is to include enterprises of the industry in the special regime of Defence City.

Currently, the residency criteria for Defence City are too strict and cannot be met even by such flagships of the aviation industry as "Antonov" or "Motor Sich". At the same time, people's deputies have already submitted a number of amendments and proposals for the second reading of the draft laws on the creation of Defence City, aimed at taking into account the position of the aviation sector and ensuring the possibility of continuing to support Ukraine's defense capability.