Kyiv Boryspil Airport Expects Strong VFR Passenger Stream, CEO Says

VIENNA—Ukraine’s largest airport, Kyiv Boryspil, is expecting strong visiting friends and relatives (VFR) traffic once the nation’s airspace is reopened and safe again.

“We are the main airport, which served over 65% of all traffic in Ukraine before the war started and over 85% of the cargo,” Kyiv Boryspil CEO Oleksiy Dubrevskyy told Aviation Week in Vienna.

The entirety of Kyiv Boryspil Airport’s infrastructure is maintained and ready for reopening at any moment, the CEO asserts. “The level of readiness is very high,” Dubrevskyy said. “We would need about three weeks, at most one month, to make the final setup for scheduled flights.”

A quick restart also aims to preserve the airport’s competitiveness, “to be able to compete in the long term with key airports in the region and major hubs across Europe, including Istanbul, Warsaw, Budapest, etc.,” he says. Especially now, with closed airspace and no operations, the market landscape has changed—in volume, connectivity and airline structure. he adds.

Asked what kinds of passenger streams are to be expected in the future, Dubrevskyy said that, based on United Nations data, more than 6.5 million Ukrainians have fled the country to seek protection, mainly in European countries, while at the same time 7 million Ukrainians were internally displaced. “Based on UN historical data, 30 to 40% of these people will return to their homes when the security situation allows. This will produce a kind of traffic we never had before in this amount—VFR,” he says. This new market segment will be a main driver for the restart of flights and market recovery.

With the liberalization of Ukrainian airspace, the nation will also have no limitations to fly to Europe.

Airlines like Ryanair, Wizz Air and airBaltic have made bold statements that they will return as fast as possible to Ukraine once the situation allows it. “It is very important, and we appreciate the interest from our international partners and airlines, as well as Ukrainian air carriers,” he says. “Moreover, we feel a huge demand for airlines returning to the Ukrainian market on very short notice, which will have great potential for growth.”

However, much depends on Ukraine as well: the aviation authorities, its air navigation service provider, its airports, transport ministry and teamwork. “[It’s about] how fast we will be able to react to all these changes and transform for the new reality,” he says. “We have to be ready for that; despite the war challenges we are facing.”

Since Feb. 24, 2022, Ukrainian airspace has been closed, and Kyiv Boryspil had to transform its strategy from growth and sustainable operation to resilience and survival—to protect and preserve the critical infrastructure of 1,000 hectares, two airfields and more than 300 facilities.

Before the war, Kyiv Boryspil had more than 4,000 employees; currently, it has 3,500. “We made no staff reductions. Over 80% of our staff are on suspension, and we are still paying two-thirds of their salaries since the first day of the war,” he says.

From the very beginning of the war, Kyiv Boryspil also suffered damage. “At the moment, our infrastructure is maintained, intact and operationally ready. Our airport is the main gateway to Ukraine, and we are a 100% civil airport,” Dubrevskyy adds.