Photo by radiosvoboda.org
The country’s westernmost region of Transcarpathia, or Zakarpattia in Ukrainian, announced the possibility of resuming passenger flights from Uzhhorod International Airport. Local deputies have allocated UAH 26 million for this airport, assuring that it is now possible to resume passenger transportation because the runway is partially located in Slovakia’s open airspace. This was reported by the aviation media «Kryla».
«26 million are allocated in order for us to have a large, unique and possibly the last major airport in the country. In fact, it is the only airport in Ukraine that can operate for passenger transportation, because the runway starts in Slovakia and ends in Slovakia. The flying plane enters the sky of the European Union, and not the sky of Ukraine, which is closed today due to the events,» – said Volodymyr Chubirko, head of the Zakarpattia Regional Council.
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The funds were allocated to increase the authorized capital of the airport «Uzhhorod».
He added that, in his opinion, it is possible to resume passenger transportation in a month or two: «Our Ukrainian airlines, those based today in Europe, will fly in the direction of Vienna, in the direction, if necessary, of Prague, Munich.»
We will remind that with the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, the sky above the country is closed for passenger planes.
We should add that the international airport «Uzhhorod» is located a few meters from the border with Slovakia – for take-off and landing in Uzhhorod, planes must enter the Slovakian airspace. Its use requires intergovernmental agreements. The airport has not been operating since 2016, because the intergovernmental agreement between Ukraine and Slovakia on joint airspace has expired. In 2019, the airport received individual flights of the Motor Sich company’s aircraft. However, in the same year, the enterprise suspended its work due to unprofitability.
Translated by Vitalii Holich
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