Ukraine is working on opening airports: the President's Office names key cities

Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Rostyslav Shurma said that Ukraine is making significant efforts to restore air traffic. Currently, 2 airports are being considered: Boryspil and Lviv. However, the first one is a priority.

He spoke about this at a panel discussion at Ukraine House Davos. Mr. Shurma noted that the resumption of air traffic is important for Ukraine in terms of reliable logistics, which is a fundamental element of the country's business and investment activities.

"If investors and businessmen cannot comfortably and quickly get to the places they need, they will not come and do anything... I can say that we are working very intensively to restore air traffic in Ukraine... We will definitely do everything possible to realize this," the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office said.

Which airports can be opened

According to Shurma, the possibility of reopening two airports is currently being considered. In particular:

• Kyiv (Boryspil International Airport);
• Lviv.

He emphasized, "the main focus is on Boryspil."

When flights may resume

At the same time, Shurma did not name any timeframe for the resumption of flights, not even an approximate one. He explained that not much depends on Ukraine itself in this matter.

"We have an internal roadmap and schedule... I think the share of our homework here is no more than 20%," he said.

Mr. Shurma noted that the possibility of resuming air traffic in Ukraine depends on the decisions of international partners and:

• independent regulators;
• insurance companies.

"Our task is to create the right risk instruments so that airlines can fly to Kyiv, which we plan to open," he stated.

Not the first statement from the OP

It should be noted that this is not the first time that the OP has spoken about the possibility of resuming air travel to Ukraine before the end of the war. Earlier, the head of the office, Andrii Yermak, suggested this possibility.

He emphasized that this could happen if partners help the country with additional air defense systems. Mr. Yermak did not specify which airport he was talking about.

"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. This is a sign that a turning point in the war is approaching," the head of the OP said.

What the Armed Forces say

At the same time, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force, Yurii Ihnat, has previously made it clear that the only condition for resuming flights will be that the military have all the necessary means to protect the sky. He explained that all Ukrainian airfields are currently "operational". And they are all under the control of the military.

"We need to understand what kind of security or danger exists... If the enemy realizes that there is a functioning airport in Ukraine, it will see it as a potential target," Ihnat stated.

As reported, 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 as the carriers are already working on it.

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