Ukraine has reopened two of the three airports, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk, that had been shut down from 13 December due to security reasons.

The airports had been closed at a request by Ukraine’s State Aviation Service as the country’s security service launched ‘anti-terror operations’ there, the Ukrainian online publication Apostrof reported.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

"While flights have started operations from the Dnipropetrovsk Airport since Tuesday, a flight ban will continue at Zaporizhia airport until Saturday," said Denis Antonyuk, head of Ukraine’s State Aviation Service.

"We decided to secure ourselves and extended the flight ban at Zaporizhia Airport until Saturday."

A statement from the state aviation service said: "The airspace over Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv airports is open from 9pm 15 December. All flights have resumed. The closure of airspace over the airport in Zaporizhya is prolonged till 6am on 20 December."

TASS quoted Antonyuk as saying: "We decided to secure ourselves and extended the flight ban at Zaporizhia Airport until Saturday."

See Also:

It was further reported that the closure came after reports in the Russian media that said that US C-130 Hercules transport planes were unloaded at Zaporizhia Airport, which led to the airport’s perimeter to be reinforced by the hasty erection of defensive towers.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

However, The Interpreter reported that Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) officials said they had no information about why Gosaviasluzhba, the state air service, was closing the airports in the three cities. At a briefing, spokesman Andrey Lysenko said the reasons were not known, and that the decision was up to the company managing the air traffic.

Ukraine had previously disrupted air links from its eastern city of Donetsk since May. The country has also banned flights between Kharkiv and Moscow in May, and between Dnipropetrovsk and Moscow in December.