Ukraine is currently at the final stage of negotiations with major partner airlines in an effort to create a national air carrier, Deputy Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko has said.
“As for the airline, this is not only the president’s dream. We are at the final stage of negotiations with some large airlines, with which we are planning a national air carrier together, because they have experience,” he said on the Ukraine 24 TV channel on Thursday.
Speaking about the development of the airport network, Tymoshenko said that regional hubs have been added to the Big Construction Project: Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi, Rivne, Poltava, Kryvy Rih, construction is also underway in the city of Dnipro.
“Yes, the construction of the airport in Dnipro is not proceeding at the pace that we would like, and not the way the locals want, but today we promised that in a few months you will see the construction of the runway at a greater speed,” he said.
Earlier, in February of this year, Tymoshenko expressed hope that work on the creation of the state air carrier would be completed in 2021.
Former Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Krykliy said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine that the concept of the state airline is based on the aircraft of the state aircraft building enterprise Antonov. Tymoshenko also said that this year it is planned to increase the state budget thanks to its filling with funds from transit air traffic, which, in turn, will be increased by transit in the sky of Ukraine by European air carriers.
As of the end of May 2021, direct flights to and from Belarus to Ukraine are operated by Motor Sich (Ukraine) and Belavia (Belarus) airlines.
According to the data of the State Air Traffic Services Enterprise (UkSATSE), Belavia in 2020 was the third in terms of the number of flights operated in Ukraine’s airspace (10,644 flights) after the Turkish Türk Hava Yolları (14,623 flights) and Ukraine International Airlines (14,406 flights).
Belavia flies from Minsk to Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Odesa and Kherson.
Motor Sich operates flights on the Minsk-Zaporizhia route twice a week.
SkyUp (Kyiv) will deny foreign passengers boarding a flight to Ukraine if they do not have a negative PCR test for coronavirus (COVID-19).
“Checking a negative result of a PCR test in foreign citizens is carried out at the check-in counter for a flight or when boarding in case of on-line check-in. Accordingly, in the absence of it such a passenger will be denied check-in or boarding a flight,” the airline told Interfax-Ukraine.
As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine determined a negative result of PCR testing for COVID-19 as a condition of entry into the country.
According to his decision, visitors will be required to provide a negative PCR test result, which was carried out no more than 72 hours before crossing the state border.
Windrose Airlines (Kyiv) plans in 2021 to expand the map of domestic flights in Ukraine and unite at least ten cities of Ukraine, director general of the airline Volodymyr Kamenchuk has said.
“We want to expand our flight map by at least ten airports in 2021. If the situation with the pandemic declines, there will be an economic recovery in the country, I think this will be implemented,” he said during the Ukraine 30. Infrastructure forum.
At the same time, he noted that at present the program of internal transportation for the company is unprofitable.
“Unfortunately, the international [transportation program] is also unprofitable, but this is due to the general situation in the world. But if there really is government assistance, this will help us reach the payback of these flights earlier,” Kamenchuk added.
Currently, the company unites nine cities of Ukraine: Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipro, Zaporizhia, Mykolaiv, Odesa, and Kherson.
Abolishing the payment of value added tax (VAT) for domestic air transportation will create positive conditions for the development of domestic airlines and revitalize regional air traffic, Deputy Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko has said.
“We have goals to abolish VAT on domestic air transportation. This is an important topic. After all, it will help the development of Ukrainian airlines – not only state ones, but also private ones,” he said during the “Ukraine 30. Infrastructure” forum.
According to the official, this year the creation of a state air carrier can be completed and Ukraine will receive an understandable state national air carrier that will be able to solve not only tourism issues, but also state issues.
At the same time, Tymoshenko recalled that in the spring of 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was necessary to involve private airlines in the evacuation of Ukrainian citizens from other countries.
“All this will be decided by a large national air carrier, which, I hope, will become known to the whole world,” he said.
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), after the termination of restrictions for foreigners from October 1, offers passengers a number of connecting flights and is also adding new flights.
According to the press service of the company, in particular, new international flights are being launched: Kyiv-Brussels-Kyiv, Kyiv-Dusseldorf-Kyiv, Kyiv-London-Kyiv, Kyiv-Prague-Kyiv, Kyiv-Baku-Kyiv.
In addition, UIA offers connecting flights via Kyiv from Amsterdam, London, Paris, Brussels, Milan, Dusseldorf, Munich, Prague to Dubai, Cairo, Baku, Yerevan, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, and from Dubai, Cairo, Baku, Yerevan via Kyiv to Amsterdam, London, Paris, Brussels, Milan, Dusseldorf, Munich, Prague, Tel Aviv, Istanbul.
Flights are also offered from Tel Aviv and Istanbul via Kyiv to Amsterdam, London, Paris, Brussels, Milan, Dusseldorf, Munich, Prague, Amsterdam, Dubai, Yerevan, Baku.
