Ukraine expects to cut air services three-fold this year – Kryklii

Ukraine expects a reduction in air service by three times by the end of the year compared to last year, Infrastructure Minister of Ukraine Vladyslav Kryklii has said.

“The projected volume of air traffic at the end of the year is 30-35% of the volume of passenger traffic compared to last year,” Kryklii said in a comment to journalists in Poltava region on Tuesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

He also noted that air carriers are trying to stimulate and draw the attention of citizens with low prices. “We see that tickets for both domestic and international flights are sold at rather competitive democratic prices,” the minister said.

He added that foreign companies are returning to Ukraine after the restoration of international flights. None of the airlines has yet reported about the complete cessation of flights from Ukraine, but the number and frequency of their flights are very low.

In addition, answering Ukrinform's question regarding support for airports, Kryklii noted that the state-owned airports of Ukraine, Boryspil and Lviv, received loans, which allow them to provide liquidity, pay salaries and operate until the end of the year.

Adaptive quarantine is in force in Ukraine until August 31. That is, restrictive measures can be relaxed or intensified depending on the epidemic situation in each region.

Scheduled international flights were resumed on June 15 after a months-long break due to the coronavirus pandemic. Domestic air traffic was resumed on June 5.

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