No plans to open Uzhhorod airport by war end - RMA

The reopening of Uzhhorod airport by the end of Russia's war is out of the question, as the safety of civilians is above the carrier's business interests, and the arguments that the airfield is close to the border with a NATO country are illusory.

Zakarpattia Regional Military Administration (RMA) said this to Ukrinform.

"As for the reopening of Uzhhorod airport, this issue arises from time to time. But as long as the war continues, it is out of the question. We are at war all over the country, and although Zakarpattia is not a front-line region, this does not mean that there is no danger here. Therefore, we have no right to endanger civilian lives with phantom arguments that the airfield in Uzhhorod is located under the border of the NATO country of Slovakia. The safety of citizens here is higher than the commercial interests of the carrier," the RMA said.

As reported, the Ukrainian airline Air Ocean Airlines has offered to resume flights from Uzhhorod airport and is ready to use two Ukrainian-designed An-148 aircraft that it used before the large-scale Russian invasion. According to the company's director, Vyacheslav Geriga, Air Ocean Airlines could start flights from Uzhhorod airport if it is deemed safe. The airfield is close to the Slovak border and the plane enters the airspace of a NATO member state immediately after takeoff. This, according to the carrier, makes civilian flights safe.

Earlier, Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, commenting on the possibility of resuming Ryanair flights, said that it is not safe to resume air travel in Ukraine.

Uzhhorod International Airport has not actually been operating since 2016, except for a short period of flight resumption in 2019 and the six-month operation of the Windrose Airline in 2021-2022, which provided the only regular flight between Kyiv and Uzhhorod.