With the ongoing events, Key.Aero provides an overview of some of the most important commercial airports – along with any joint military assets stationed there – from across the country, which has a population of roughly 44 million residents.
While this is a non-exhaustive list, we provide a snapshot on some of the gateways covering key statistics and figures, airlines and geographic location.
Kyiv/Boryspil
Facts:
- Two runways, 18L/36R (13,123ft) and 18R/36L (11,483ft)
- IATA: KBP
- ICAO: UKBB
- Location: 50°20′41″N 30°53′36″E
- Elevation: 427ft
- Passenger Numbers (2021) = 9,433,000 (8,797,800 scheduled and 635,200 non-scheduled)
Located to the southeast of the capital Kyiv – which is in central, northern Ukraine – Boryspil serves as the main gateway to the country; according to the airport’s website, it has accounted for approximately 62% of all aerial passenger traffic of the nation. Boryspil is situated just 65 miles south from the Belarusian border and roughly 126 miles southwest of Russia.
Kyiv/Boryspil is home to a wide variety of airlines. For example, national carrier, Ukraine International Airlines, which just before the latest turn of events in February, had continued to ply key European links including London/Gatwick, Barcelona, Geneva and Munich. Meanwhile, other important carriers at Boryspil include locally based SkyUp Airlines and Windrose Airlines, along with Irish budget behemoth, Ryanair. Due to the gateway’s importance, flag carriers such as Air France, KLM and Turkish Airlines served on routes from their main bases of Paris/Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam/Schiphol and Istanbul, respectively.
According to Scramble.nl, Boryspil is home to the Ukrainian Air Force’s 15th Transport Aviation Brigade, with aircraft attached including Antonov An-26s, An-30Bs, Tupolev Tu-134s and Mil Mi-8s.
Kyiv/Zhuliany
Facts:
- One runway, 08/26 (7,579ft)
- IATA: IEV
- ICAO: UKKK
- Location: 50°24′06″N 30°27′06″E
- Elevation: 587ft
- Passenger Numbers (2021) = 1,418,153
More centrally located within Kyiv (west of the city centre) than Boryspil, it’s around 59 miles south of Belarus and 130 miles southwest of Russia.
While the capital’s Zhuliany gateway serves less airlines than its neighbour, it still remains an important base of operation for the likes of Ukrainian firm, Bees Airline as well as low-cost giant Wizz Air. For example, the latter carrier had only as recently as October 2021 revealed a major expansion of operations from Ukraine that year and into 2022 – a combined 26 new routes from Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa and Kharkiv were outlined at the time of the announcement – with Zhuliany a key focus. New destinations from here included Paris/Beauvais, Brussels/Charleroi and Eindhoven which all started back in December 2021.
Kyiv/Zhuliany is understood to be the base of The Ukraine Border Guards’ Separate Air Squadron according to Scramble.nl, with assets including Antonov An-26, An-72, An-74TK-200VIP, Mil Mi-8T and Mi-8MT airframes.
Lviv
Facts:
- One runway, 13/31 (10,843ft)
- IATA: LWO
- ICAO: UKLL
- Location: 49°48′45″N 23°57′22″E
- Elevation: 1,077ft
- Passenger Numbers (2021) = 1,834,051
Situated in the far west of Ukraine, Lyiv is only 40 miles to the east of the Polish border. For context, the city’s gateway is 121 miles south of Belarus and 380 miles southwest of Russia.
Several airlines have served Lviv and incorporate a mix of budget operators and flag carriers. These include Wizz Air – which, as part of its expansion plans, had originally earmarked to add a swathe of new destinations in the coming months from Lviv such as Madrid, Nice and Athens – Ryanair and Bees Airline, to LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa and Ukraine International Airlines.
Odesa
Facts:
- One runway, 16/34 (9,186ft)
- IATA: ODS
- ICAO: UKOO
- Location: 46°25′37″N 030°40′41″E
- Elevation: 174ft
- Passenger Numbers (2021) = 1,328,326
Odesa is found on the Black Sea coast, while its airport lies inland on the western outskirts of the city. The site is just 24 miles due east of Moldova and approximately 90 miles northeast of Romania. While the Crimean Peninsula is to the southeast (with Sevastopol being 185 miles direct across the Black Sea), mainland Russia is roughly 300 miles east-southeast (in the direction of Krasnodar).
Again, while seeing a similar line-up of operators such as Ukraine International Airlines, Bees Airline, Ryanair and Wizz Air, plus the likes of LOT Polish Airlines and Turkish Airlines, the airport had also been frequented by Qatar Airways. The Doha-based carrier began services to Odesa back in December 2021 – its second Ukrainian destination – plied thrice-weekly by its contingent of Airbus A320s. Fellow Gulf carrier flydubai also linked the Black Sea city with the Middle East to Dubai/International.
Odesa is also understood to be the base of The Ukraine Border Guards’ Separate Air Squadron according to Scramble.nl, with assets including Antonov An-26, An-72, Diamond DA42 and Mil Mi-8 aircraft.
Kharkiv
Facts:
- One runway, 07/25 (8,202ft)
- IATA: HRK
- ICAO: UKHH
- Location: 49°55′29″N 36°17′24″E
- Elevation: 528ft
- Passenger Numbers (2021) = 1,159,000
The airport is south of Kharkiv’s city centre and located just a mere 25 miles south of Russia, while being around 250 miles southeast of Belarus.
The complex plays host to firms such as Wizz Air, SkyUp Airlines and Ukraine International Airlines, while it has also seen flights from national carriers LOT Polish Airlines and Turkish Airlines.
