The State Aviation Service of Ukraine has granted the new Ukrainian airline Bees Airline the rights to operate the Kyiv – Lviv – Kyiv, Kyiv – Odesa – Kyiv and Kyiv – Kherson – Kyiv airlines. Order of the State Aviation Service No. 655 dated April 26, 2021 was published on its website.
According to the document, the frequency of these flights and the duration of the rights are not limited.
As reported, the State Aviation Service of Ukraine issued an operator certificate to Bees Airline on March 12, 2021. Later, the regulator allowed the company to operate flights on 31 routes – 15 regular and 16 charter flights.
Bees Airline made its first charter flight from Kyiv to Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) by order of the tour operator Tez Tour Ukraine on March 18, 2021.
According to the public register of civil aircraft of Ukraine, Bees Airline registered two aircraft in Ukraine – Boeing 737-800 with registration numbers UR-UBA and UR-UBB. Both aircraft are produced in 2010 and belong to San Clemente Leasing LLC (the United States).
According to Bees Airline CEO Yevhen Khainatsky, by the end of 2021 the fleet will be replenished with two more aircraft. Another two are planned to arrive in 2022.
The base airport of Bees Airline is Kyiv International Airport named after Ihor Sikorsky.
According to the data in the register, the beneficial owners of Bees Airline are Serhiy Smirny (90%) and Khainatsky (10%).
Previously, Khainatsky was CEO of another Ukrainian airline – SkyUp Airlines.
Shipbuilding Smart Maritime Group (SMG) of Smart Holding, which unites Kherson and Mykolaiv shipyards, has modernized and put into operation dry-cargo vessel Gelius 1 (under Saint Kitts and Nevis flag).
According to a Wednesday press release of SMG, during the modernization, the vessel was extended by 25.35 meters with an insert and became a two-hold vessel. At the same time, the total volume of the holds increased by more than 64%, to 7,377 cubic meters.
In addition, there are hydraulically operated Folder-type hatch covers. The weight of the insert together with hatch covers was 393 tonnes.
Thanks to the modernization, carried out according to the project of the Marine Engineering Bureau (Odesa), the deadweight of the vessel at a draft of 4.85 m (summer waterline) increased by 54%, or by 1935 tonnes, to 5,492 tonnes.
The vessel Gelius 1 (project 003RSD04/ALB02, Caspian Express type) was built at the Ceksan shipyard, Tuzla (Turkey) in 2007. Its initial design dimensions were 89.95 x 15.87 m, depth 5.75 m, deadweight was 3,640 tonnes.
Smart Maritime Group is the largest shipbuilding company in Ukraine, uniting the shipbuilding assets of the industrial and investment group Smart Holding: Mykolaiv and Kherson shipyards. The production facilities of SMG allow building medium-tonnage full-scale vessels and carrying out complex ship maintenance works. The customers of the shipyards are companies from the Netherlands, Norway, Great Britain and other countries of the world.
In 2020, the company modernized and repaired 55 vessels, built two chemical tanker hulls.
The RDS Group of road construction companies will repair a section of M-14 road in Kherson region, which will be the ninth region of Ukraine in which the company carries out works, the co-founder of RDS, Yevhen Konovalov, told Interfax-Ukraine.
“Our production will be based in Nova Kakhovka. The south, Kherson region are strategically important for the development of both passenger flow and trade infrastructure of our country,” he said.
According to Konovalov, the group plans to join projects in other regions of the country within the president’s Big Construction program by the end of this year.
According to the ProZorro system, Rostdorstroy LLC, which is a part of the RDS Group, won two lots in the tender for medium repairs of M-14 Odesa-Melitopol-Novoazovsk road in Kherson region worth UAH 22.998 million and UAH 46.98 million (PJSC Khmelnytsky Road Construction Department No. 56 won two other lots).
In addition, Rostdorstroy has passed prequalification along with Khmelnytsky Road Construction Department No. 56 and Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC in several more tenders for medium repairs of this road in Kherson region.
In 2020, the State Agency of Automobile Roads of Ukraine (Ukravtodor) plans to repair 177.5 kilometers of national roads in Kherson region for UAH 2.1 billion, including 36.1 kilometers of M-14 Odesa-Melitopol-Novoazovsk road.
RDS Group is included in the top three road construction companies of Ukraine. It includes Kyivshliakhbud and Rostdorstroy. The core business is construction, reconstruction and maintenance of roads and bridges, construction of airfield complexes.
The ultimate beneficial owners of RDS Group are Ukrainian citizens Yuriy Shumakher and Yevhen Konovalov.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a working trip to Kherson region has inspected the reconstruction progress at the Kherson International Airport.
“The head of state was informed that an investment project had begun in 2019 to ensure aircraft landing in the evening and at night, as well as in difficult weather conditions. The project has received over UAH 46 million from the State Regional Development Fund and more than UAH 5 million of regional development funding. The project’s implementation has already been funded by more than UAH 11 million. The opening of the airport’s updated lighting system is scheduled for September this year,” the presidential press service said on Friday.
In addition, the regional airport development program for 2018-2020 is currently being implemented. Routine runway repairs have been carried out, workers have been trained to launch the Kherson-Krakow flight, and additional equipment has been acquired to improve the quality of passenger service. The Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise also decided to update landing systems at the airport in 2020.
“All this will allow the airport to get the first category of aircraft landing according to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards,” the report says.
Head of Kherson Regional State Administration Yuriy Husiev stressed that the airport is strategic.
“In the south, this is one of the very important hubs, and I would like it to become a hub for flights from Mykolaiv, Kherson regions. Even from Zaporizhia they come to us because Ryanair launched very popular flights,” he said.
At the same time, the question remains of reconstructing the runway, updating the fleet of aircraft.
Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Krykliy said the total cost of the full restoration of the runway is UAH 1.2-1.5 billion, and UAH 910 has been spent on it this year. He added with the president’s support the amount of funding may be increased this year.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will make a visit to Kherson region on Friday, June 26, in order to check the implementation of the Big Construction program there, Deputy Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko has said.
“The president will make a trip to Kherson region on Friday in order to check the implementation of the Big Construction project on the roads and other facilities in the region,” he told a press briefing in Kyiv region on Wednesday.
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) will resume flights from Kyiv to Kherson International Airport, the head of Kherson Regional State Administration has said.
“I would like to inform that Ukraine International Airlines will resume flights from Kyiv to Kherson on June 19,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
“Today negotiations with airlines to establish flights between Lviv and Kherson were held. We hope that soon residents of western Ukraine will be able to easily reach our region and enjoy summer in the south,” he said.
