Page 72 - UKRRptDec21

9.2.3 Transport corporate news
In the first 10 months of 2021 passenger traffic at Kharkiv Airport (MAX) has grown by 66% in comparison to last year’s passenger numbers, reported Interfax. Passenger traffic in October 2021 reached 123,060 passengers, which is 66% higher than the corresponding figure for 2020. In October 2021, 539 flights were completed, which was 34% more than in 2020. The most popular destinations were: Antalya, Istanbul, Kyiv, Sharm el-Sheikh, and Larnaca.
Ukraine Railways (UZ) will launch 12 new high-speed trains in December.
In the new train schedule, 12 pairs of high-speed trains will start running on December 12, announced the company announced on its Facebook page. The first of two high-speed electric trains, Skoda "City Elephant," will be in service by the end of the year. It is planned that it will run the route, Kyiv - Ternopil. In 2021, Ukraine Railways transported almost 2.6 million passengers by high-speed trains, which is nearly 25% more than in the same period of 2020.
New Ukrainian carrier Air Ocean Airlines starts regular domestic flights.
The company began daily flights between Kyiv and Zaporizhia on November 21. It also sent its first commercial flight from Kyiv to Lviv on November 22 and plans to add more routes in the future, including international ones. The airline is based in the Kyiv International Airport, known as Zhuliany. In Ukraine, domestic flights are an unpopular alternative to railways, which are cheaper and provide more travel options. Many local airports are in disrepair and lack the capacity to service modern aircraft.
UIA bounced back strongly this summer, reporting $41 million in net profit for the first nine months of this year. By contrast, the national flag carrier’s net profit for the first half was only $795,000. Last year, Ukraine International Airlines lost $170 million. During the first 18 months of the pandemic, the airline refunded passengers $52 million for ticket cancellations, the airline reported Friday. UIA is struggling with debts of $786 million, Radio Free Europe reports.
Kherson plant Pallada, which is part of Ukroboronprom, has signed a contract with the Croatian company ISKRA SHIPYARD to construct a new generation composite floating dock with a capacity of 5,000 tons. The new agreement will allow the plant staff to work fully for 12-13 months. “I am sure that our specialists will take responsibility for this task and hand over the building on time” said the Acting Director of Pallada, Eugene Alkhimov.
Antonov has constructed the first AN-178 for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The production of the AN-178 aircraft for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is proceeding according to the schedule. To date, the construction of the airframe of the first of the three aircraft has been completed, reported cfts.org.ua The plane’s first flight will be in before summer 2022.
Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) plans to upgrade more than 50,000 railroad cars by 2028. The program of large-scale modernization by UZ includes the renovation of more than 50,000 freight and passenger cars by 2028. The First Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Vasyl Shkurakov, said “Our goal is to restart Ukrzaliznytsia to improve the quality of railway transportation services
72 UKRAINE Country Report December 2021 www.intellinews.com