Page 57 - UKRRptMay21

9.1.3 Transport sector news
● Planes
Kyiv Boryspil, Ukraine’s busiest airport, handled one half the passengers in the first quarter of 2021 compared to January-March 2020, the airport reported. Of the 1.2mn passengers, 47.5% flew on charters, a big increase over last year. The top 5 destinations for all travelers in March alone were: Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, Istanbul, Dubai, Minsk. With the suspension of UIA’s long haul route network, transit passengers dropped by 90.5% - to 36,900 for the quarter.
To boost domestic air travel, the Cabinet of Ministers is drawing up a bill to abolish VAT taxes on internal air tickets, Prime Minister Shmygal wrote on Facebook. He said: “This will support airlines during the crisis, as well as promote the development of tourism potential of our country.” Noting that the measure has the support of the Ministers of Economy, Finance and Infrastructure, he said: “These legislative changes must be made as soon as possible in order to increase the tourist flow this summer.”
Zakarpattia’s new airport is to cost almost $150mn to build, and is to be completed by the summer of 2024. This will be the end of President Zelenskiy’s current term. A priority for the government’s ‘Big Construction’ program, the airport is to have two 2,800-meter runways capable of handling A320 and B737 jets and a privately built terminal capable of handling 1mn passengers a year. This year’s state budget has allotted $1mn for the airport design. Coupled with large scale road paving and reconstruction in Zakarpattia, the airport will boost Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains as an international tourist destination, says the regional government. Zakarpattia’s new airport will be located outside of Mukachevo, the region’s second largest
57 UKRAINE Country Report May 2021 www.intellinews.com