Business news from Ukraine

ANTONOV AIRLINES MOVES BASE TO LEIPZIG

Antonov State Enterprise (Kyiv) has reported that due to the impossibility of operating international flights from Ukraine, five An-124-100 Ruslan aircraft are temporarily based at the airport in Leipzig (Germany).
“The work of the branch of the air transport division (ATP) of the Antonov State Enterprise, known in the world as the Antonov Airlines, has been organized there, and a base has been equipped for the maintenance of these aircraft,” the company said on Facebook.
Antonov said that this allows the company to continue fulfilling commercial and government orders for the transportation of super-heavy and oversized cargo.
“After the victory over the Russian invaders and the completion of a set of works to restore the efficiency of the Kyiv-Antonov-2 airport, it will again become the base for the Ruslan fleet of Antonov Airlines,” the company added.
As reported, due to Russian hostile actions, the Antonov base in Hostomel was destroyed, the base at Sviatoshyn was damaged, An-26, An-74 aircraft and the flagship of the world aviation fleet An-225 Mriya were destroyed.
In addition, according to Antonov State Enterprise, five more aircraft were damaged – An-12, An-22, An-28, An-132D and An-124-100-150.
The company said that on the eve of the Russian invasion, five An-124 aircraft were withdrawn from Ukraine; An-26, An-74 and An-225 Mriya aircraft were also ready to leave the country on February 24.
Antonov State Enterprise initiated the foundation of the International Fund for the revival of the An-225 Mriya transport aircraft.

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HUNGARIAN LOW COSTER WIZZ AIR OPENS BASE IN LVIV

The Hungarian low cost airline Wizz Air has opened the second base in Ukraine at Lviv International Airport.
According to the press service of the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine, in July the company will operate five new flights from western Ukraine, in particular, from Lviv to Billund (Denmark), Tallinn (Estonia), Lisbon (Portugal), Hamburg (Germany), and Szczecin (Poland).
Wizz Air also plans to expand its route network by opening flights from Kharkiv to Tallinn and Berlin.
“The Ukrainian aviation industry needs to be restored as soon as possible for a further stable functioning and growth. Therefore, it is very pleasant that both Ukrainian and leading international airlines do not lose optimism during the coronavirus crisis, but rather seek new opportunities for development, opening up new popular directions. Wizz Air is a leading low cost company, which was one of the first to enter the Ukrainian market back in 2008,” Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Krykliy said.
It is expected that the opening of a new Wizz Air base will bring Lviv more than $100 million investment in 2020 and create more than 30 jobs.
“We are convinced that investments in opening the base and new routes will stimulate the development of the local economy, aviation and tourism,” Andras Sebok, the chief supply chain officer at Wizz Air, said.
The director general of Lviv Airport, Tetiana Romanovska, in turn, noted that 17 directions to different cities of Europe have already been opened from the airport.

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MOBILE SUBSCRIBERS’ BASE NARROWS BY 0.75% IN 1Q

The number of mobile communications subscribers in Ukraine in January-March 2018 totaled 55.323 million, which was 0.75% down on the previous, fourth quarter of 2017, the State Statistics Service has reported. The number of households buying mobile communications services (private clients) shrank by 0.82% in the first three months of 2018 to 50.977 million people. Private subscribers accounted for 92% of the total number of mobile communications subscribers.
The number of cable TV subscribers in the first quarter of 2018 fell by 4.1%, to 2.242 million people.
The number of Internet access users as of April 1, 2018, was 23.836 million people, which was 0.86% up from the previous quarter. Private users accounted for 89.7%.
In the first quarter of 2018, broadband Internet access was available to 22.9 million subscribers (a 1.3% up on the fourth quarter of 2017).
Fixed Internet access services in the first three months of 2018 were provided to 5.16 million subscribers, wireless Internet services were available to 17.16 million subscribers.
Landline telephone communications services were provided to 5.938 million households in urban areas and to 802,500 households in rural areas.

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