What has already been done to open one of the airports in Ukraine. Approximate timeline for the start of work

It has not yet been decided which of the airports in Ukraine will be opened for civilian use. The choice is said to be between Lviv and Boryspil (Kyiv) airports. Forecasts on the opening date range from the most optimistic – at the end of January 2025, to the most cautious – during 2025.

The actual opening of one of Ukraine's airports depends on many factors, the first of which is ensuring the relative safety of the airspace. In addition, aviation insurance must be provided.

The possibility of fulfilling the second condition is already being actively considered. Marsh McLennan is helping to develop the insurance program. Senior partner Crispin Allison shared his opinion with the Ukrainian media:

"I think if we're lucky, in January we'll have five or six airlines that want to fly," he said at the Kyiv International Economic Forum.

Ellison also emphasized that it would be easier to achieve the desired goals if the airport is opened in Lviv, as it takes only 7 minutes to fly to Poland's airspace. However, the final decision will be made by the President's Office, which is now insisting on opening Boryspil airport.

While the decision on a particular airport is still up in the air, work on partial opening of Ukraine's airspace continues. In early November, the developed map of partial opening of airspace in the current conditions was presented. The event took place in Warsaw with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development, international airport managers, relevant services, and support from the US Embassy in Ukraine. In total, more than 100 representatives of the aviation industry from different countries were present.

During the event, the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine presented a step-by-step plan for the partial opening of the airspace over Ukraine and provided an assessment of risks to civil aviation. At the same time, the company noted that the opening of the airspace will be possible if the risk assessment does not exceed an acceptable level and additional measures are taken to ensure the safety of Ukraine's airspace.

"This is the first expert discussion that we expect to help move forward with creating the conditions for opening the airspace. During the war, our strategic objective is to preserve aviation infrastructure and qualified personnel so that when the time comes, we can resume civilian flights as quickly as possible," the experts emphasized.

We are looking forward to further significant steps to achieve partial opening of the airspace over Ukraine and to make a decision on a specific airport. Earlier, we wrote about the "rake" that should not be stepped on at airports and Kyiv from a different perspective.