Ukraine could reopen its first civilian airport in Lviv as early as next year, a major step in its bid to restore air services suspended by Russia’s full-scale invasion. About this writes Reuters.
This perspective was confirmed by Crispin Allison, senior partner at Marsh McLennan, a large insurance company that is involved in the process of reviving air transportation in Ukraine.
Russian forces regularly attacked Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, which led to significant destruction and financial losses for airlines. The national carrier and a number of other companies could not withstand the financial burden and were forced to declare bankruptcy. At the same time, the Ukrainian side has been negotiating with European aviation authorities for almost a year to find a solution to restore safe air traffic.
“If regulators agree it’s safe to reopen the airport and a political decision is made, the insurance industry is ready to support recovery effortsAllison said.
The Ukrainian State Aviation Service confirmed that it is studying the possibility of gradually opening the airspace for civil aviation, provided that the risks are assessed and reduced to an acceptable level. At the same time, specific terms have not yet been announced.
“Ensuring airspace security is our key priority, and significant work has already been done in this direction“, Allison emphasized.
The Lviv region, which borders Poland, is relatively rarely under Russian fire compared to other parts of the country, although the region’s infrastructure has come under attack. Before the war, the Lviv airport, which has two terminals, could serve up to three thousand passengers per hour.
According to Ellison, Marsh McLennan supports the Ukrainian government in developing an insurance program that will cover the risks of commercial aviation. The company has already implemented a similar program for ships transporting goods through the Black Sea Corridor of Ukraine, and is ready to expand this experience to the aviation sector.
Currently, both national carriers and a number of low-cost airlines, which are interested in resuming flights, are participating in the negotiations. Ukrainian authorities are also expressing their desire to open Kyiv’s main airport, but according to Allison, airlines are inclined to wait until a greater level of security is achieved.
The Ministry of Infrastructure has not yet commented on the possible timing of the opening of the Lviv airport.
