Insurers have identified the airport in Ukraine that can be opened first

Warring Ukraine could reopen its first airport in Lviv next year and resume air services suspended across the country after Russia invaded in 2022.

Kyiv has been in talks with European aviation authorities and airlines for almost a year to resume some air traffic, Ellison said.

“If regulators agree that it is safe to reopen and a political decision is made, the insurance industry would be ready to support the recovery efforts,” Ellison said, referring to 2025.

In written comments, the State Aviation Service stated that it is considering the possibility of a phased and limited opening of airspace for civil aviation “subject to risk assessment and their reduction to an acceptable level, as well as the implementation of additional security measures.” However, she did not specify any time frame.

Flight safety

Ensuring the safety of the airspace is a top priority, and “a lot of work has been done around this problem,” Ellison said. He did not provide further details.

The Lviv region, which borders Poland, has been hit less frequently by Russian strikes than other parts of Ukraine, although Russian forces have attacked its gas infrastructure and fired drones and missiles at it.

Lviv's Danylo Halytskyi Airport has two terminals and could handle up to 3,000 passengers per hour before the war.

Ellison said Marsh McLennan is supporting the Ukrainian government in creating an insurance fund to cover commercial aviation. The broker already manages an insurance program for vessels carrying all cargo through Ukraine’s Black Sea corridor.

The aviation sector is involved in the talks, he said.

“National carriers, budget airlines and Ukrainian airlines are showing interest and are considering doing so,” he said.

Ukrainian authorities are also keen to reopen the country’s main airport near Kyiv, but Ellison believes the aviation market is waiting “until there is confidence that this can happen in a much less risky scenario.”

Moscow has regularly launched missile and drone strikes on Ukraine during more than 2.5 years of hostilities. Kyiv and surrounding areas have been regularly targeted by Russian long-range attacks.

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Author: alex

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