Will Uzhgorod have “wings”?

Recently, the photo of an aircraft landing in Uzhgorod airport was posted online.

And although Uzhgorod residents know that the airport accepts only charter flights, they still hope: the only airport in Ukraine, where maneuvering of aircrafts for landing and after take-off is carried through the airspace of the Slovak Republic, is idle because of its uniqueness.

Since Slovakia is now a member of the EU, flights above its territory should be carried out in accordance with the standards of the European Union, and the UkSATSE should be certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

As you know, in July 2017, the deputies of the Transcarpathian Regional Council of the VIІ convocation prepared a letter addressed to the Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman on the necessity of signing a new intergovernmental agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the Slovak Republic on the transfer of responsibility for the provision of air traffic services and the operation of the international airport "Uzhgorod".

In September of the same year, the head of the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration Hennadiy Moskal, following the meeting in the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine with the participation of representatives of the State Aviation Service, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the civil aviation authority of the Slovak Republic, the UkSATSE, and the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration on resumption of the full operation of the Uzhgorod International Airport did not bring the expected results:

– According to the decision of the EASA, an application for audit and certification of facilities must be submitted by the UkSATSE, – the head of the Regional State Administration said. – However, no conrete agreements on this issue have been reached. Ukraine should provide funds for audit and certification in the State Budget for 2018, while the timeframe is determined by the EASA at their own discretion. This may be from 2019 until 2022.

However, already in February this year, the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure for European Integration Viktor Dovgan, during the open lecture "Agreement on the Association of Ukraine with the EU. Loss or Win?" reported that the airport "Uzhgorod" should undergo an audit.   He believes that the airport will be able to accept flights from UIA, Turkish Airlines, Belavia, Wizz Air and LOT, but it requires investment of 2 million euros.

The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine agreed to allocate the first tranche of 58.2 thousand euros for the EASA certification of the UkSATSE division at the Uzhgorod International Airport.

"EASA will begin to carry out audits of Uzhgorod airport systems in the near future… We hope that in the summer, after the successful audit and certification of airport systems, we’ll sign an intergovernmental agreement," – the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Viktor Dovgan said.

Meanwhile, seeing "wings" over Uzhgorod is something extraordinary.