Serhiy Derkach met with the management of Air Baltic
Serhiy Derkach, Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories, met with a delegation of airBaltic, which is visiting Ukraine. Among them are Thomas Ramdahl, Senior Vice President Network Management of airBaltic, and Mantas Vrubliauskas, Vice President of Network Development. The Ambassador of Latvia to Ukraine, Ilgvars Klava, also attended the meeting.
The main topic of the talks was the current state of Ukraine's civil aviation, opportunities to support and train Ukrainian specialists, and analysis of the Risk Assessment (a document minimising risks for partial opening of airspace).
"Currently, our priority in the civil aviation sector is to preserve personnel and airports infrastructure and to ensure the stable functioning of the air navigation system. At the same time, safety and security are crucial to opening the airspace. Without creating a safe environment, the relevant decisions are impossible. We have previously developed a comprehensive Risk Assessment, and we are currently working on this document with airlines and relevant regulators. At the same time, we are grateful to airBaltic for its constant cooperation and readiness to resume flights when the security situation allows. We appreciate airBaltic’s ongoing cooperation and commitment to restoring connectivity with Ukraine when conditions allow, and we welcome its readiness to expand operations and reconnect Ukraine with Europe as we rebuild our aviation sector,” said Serhiy Derkach, Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories.
Sergiy Derkach said that the State Aviation Administration, the Ministry for Development, UkSATSE, and the military prepared a Risk Assessment at the end of last year. This document identifies the key threats during the partial opening of airspace and the measures necessary to minimise them.
airBaltic is interested in returning to flights from Ukraine, as the company operated at key Ukrainian airports before the full-scale invasion. In 2019 alone, airBaltic carried almost 220,000 passengers. The company used to operate scheduled flights from Riga (Latvia) to Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa and from Vilnius (Lithuania) to Kyiv and Odesa.
Thomas Ramdahl, Senior Vice President Network Management at airBaltic:
“We have consistently expressed our plans for airBaltic to be the first airline back in Ukraine when it is safe, and we stand by this commitment. The safety of our employees, passengers, and operations will always be our highest priority, and following our second in-person visit to Kyiv, preparations for our return are well underway. We look forward to restoring the vital air links and contributing to Ukraine’s aviation recovery.”
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