From left: Crawford Burden, Aecom’s managing director of global aviation in Europe; Karl Jensen, executive vice president of Aecom’s National Governments practice; Manav Kumar, senior vice president, deputy general counsel & global head of public affairs at Aecom; Oleksiy Dubrevskyy, director general of Boryspil International Airport; and Volodymyr Shadrin, director of construction for Boryspil.
Multinational infrastructure consultancy Aecom has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine’s largest airport to serve as its reconstruction delivery partner.
The company will support the restart of flights from Kyiv’s Boryspil International Airport and the reconstruction of the broader aviation sector of Ukraine. Boryspil handled nearly 9.5 million passengers a year prior to the closure of Ukraine’s airspace at the start of the ongoing Russian invasion.
“The memorandum marks another important milestone for the recovery of Ukraine's aviation sector and is part of the global plan for restoration and modernization of national airports and the aviation industry, which was developed under the auspices of the Ministry of Community, Territory and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine,” Boryspil Director General Oleksiy Dubrevskyy says.
Aecom CEO Troy Rudd adds: “With our program management and aviation capabilities, we look forward to working with Boryspil International Airport to restore this strategically important airport and Ukraine’s aviation sector.”
Boryspil has been closed since February 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Speaking at Routes Europe 2023 in May, Dubrevskyy signaled that airport remains operationally ready for the return of commercial traffic as soon as the war in the country is over. “The heart of civil aviation in Ukraine is still beating, and the heart of Kyiv Boryspil Airport is also beating,” he said.
Dubrevskyy explained that Boryspil has a comprehensive plan to maintain its infrastructure, ensuring it remains operationally ready to restart, comparing the airport to a small town that cannot be switched off. About 600 staff are required on a daily basis for maintenance purposes, but all 3,615 employees have been retained, with the airport continuing to compensate them at a rate of two-thirds of their regular salary.
“We are strong, we will win, we are not broken,” Dubrevskyy told Routes Europe delegates. “Sooner or later, we will be back on track, and we need to think about the future.”
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