With the closure of civil aviation, logistics for Ukrainians turned into hell, but authorized persons assured that Boryspil Airport would be operational as soon as possible. The terms when this will happen have already been named.
When?
It has been announced that the Boryspil International Airport will start operating a month after the end of the war on the territory of Ukraine. At this moment, all the destruction that could interfere with the functioning, take-off, and landing of planes has been removed. Most of them were caused by the Russian army in the first days after the start of the full-scale invasion in two attacks. 1.8 million euros were spent on restoration, so the infrastructure is now in good condition.
People or cargo?
After the opening, a change in the percentage of flights is expected. If before, the need for flights for the transportation of passengers and cargo was different, after the war, the share of cargo flights would increase significantly.
In general, an increase in demand is expected for both categories, and this is due to the following reasons:
- Cargo flights. The active involvement of aviation in the delivery of everything necessary for the reconstruction of Ukraine is expected. It will begin immediately after the war and continue for a long time. Construction equipment, building materials, etc. will be delivered.
- Passenger flights. Some people have been living in other countries since the beginning of the war, so they will actively use air travel to return to Ukraine. Relatives and friends will also fly to them. Even business ties with Europe are closer now, so Ukrainians will fly there more often on business.
So now, everything is ready to take on an even bigger load than by 2022.
Cost of inactivity
Boryspil Airport has been put on hold since the first days of the war. To save the staff, the following measures had to be taken:
- workplaces for the majority of qualified personnel were saved;
- 2/3 salary was paid;
- working days were alternated.
But for now, the international airport is suffering significant losses. Every month, 3.2 million euros are needed only for the payment of electricity and the salaries of the staff. The Boryspil Airport Director-General Oleksii Dubrevskyi said that funds earned in 2021 are being spent on this.
The optimism of the airport management has grounds because only 3 of 13 Ukrainian airports remain in normal condition. Successfully, they are located in Kyiv (center of Ukraine), Odesa (south), and Lviv (west). Significant funds are needed to rebuild the damaged airports, so, at first, all passenger traffic will go through the surviving ones.
