Will Ukrainians get their airplanes back? The key conditions for the resumption of passenger flights have been named. Video

Before resuming civilian air travel, Ukraine needs to radically address security issues. After all, the war is ongoing, and airports can become desirable targets for the enemy. But this is not the only difficulty with the return of flights - there are also serious problems with insurance and the lack of regulations for wartime.

This was told to OBOZ.UA by Bohdan Dolintse, an expert on the development of the aviation market. This is how he commented on the statement of the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office (PO) Rostyslav Shurma about the active work on the resumption of airports in Boryspil or Lviv.

"There are no official rules, regulations, or procedures on how airports should operate in an air raid. How passengers should evacuate if they are on board or, for example, if they are standing in line for boarding. A huge pool of issues is not currently regulated in Ukrainian legislation," the expert warned.

According to Dolintse, the existing aviation rules are designed for peacetime conditions. Moreover, the issue of the availability and capacity of storage facilities and shelters at airports remains open.

Also, flights will require permits from special security agencies, including the Air Defense Forces. Therefore, according to experts, a number of conditions must be met for civilian flights to resume, the main ones being:

• flight safety;
• development of new instructions for work during threats;
• availability of aircraft maintenance infrastructure;
• aviation insurance.

In such circumstances, it is unclear whether there will be any airlines willing to fly to Ukraine during the war. "By opening its airspace, Ukraine assumes the relevant international obligations and guarantees that this airspace is safe. In the event of any incidents in this airspace, it will have to be held accountable under international law. In particular, if the aircraft suffer any destruction or damage, insurance companies are likely to be able to ask Ukraine for millions in compensation," Dolince said.

He noted that insurance of civilian flights during the war is also a complex topic. The terms of such insurance will be completely different from the usual insurance practice.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time that the Presidential Office has spoken about the possibility of resuming air travel in Ukraine before the end of the war. Earlier, the head of the Office of the President, Andriy Yermak, admitted this possibility. However, according to him, the main condition is to provide Ukraine with additional air defense systems.

"Strengthening air defense will be the key to recovery. Ukraine needs a reliable "umbrella" for its recovery. In particular, its strengthening will allow us to reopen one of Ukraine's airports. We are already working on this with our partners," said the head of the OP.

Yuriy Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, also made it clear that the only condition for resuming flights would be for the military to have all the necessary means to protect the sky. He emphasized that currently all Ukrainian airfields are "operational". And they are all under the control of the military.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, a number of major airlines are ready to return to the Ukrainian market, both low-cost and regular ones. As soon as the security situation allows, they will need very little time to resume flights - the carriers are already working on it.

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