The Board of the "Airports of Ukraine" Association of Civil Aviation (AAUCA) certifies its respect to you and addresses the following:

The development of Ukrainian airports is the main statutory task for AAUCA, which is currently the leading public organization of the aviation industry and unites airports, aviation enterprises, designers, builders, manufacturers and suppliers of equipment and technologies.

That is why, for a decade, AAUCA has been carrying out its activities with the aim of introducing modern technologies and regulatory legal acts, adopting the positive experience of the European Union, including with the help of experts from the International Council of Airports of Europe (ACI Europe), of which it has been a full member since 2014 .

Having such experience of cooperation with European airports and organizations, as well as taking into account that as a result of the military aggression of the Russian Federation, the airspace of Ukraine was closed and civil aviation transportation was suspended, we would like to share with you international experience and express some warnings that may affect the future existence and operation of airports , especially those that previously did not have regular air transportation.

Unmanageability of the airport industry as a single aviation transport system. During the creation of the National Transport Strategy of Ukraine (NTSU) for the period up to 2030, AAUCA representatives analyzed the modern organizational and legal structures of airport management in European countries (Spain, Norway, Turkey, Poland) and repeatedly informed the management of MIU and DASU about its improvement, which would allow to combine airports as integral property complexes: an airfield, a terminal and other infrastructure, following the example of the specified countries, which would be managed by the state and a single policy would be implemented that would ensure:

centralized management, control, reporting, including statistical information on the industry;
centralized provision of Ukrainian airports with everything necessary (terminal equipment, airfield systems - RTO, SSO and weather, special equipment for ground maintenance and operational maintenance of airfields), which will significantly affect its purchase price, organization of service;
high-quality training and training of personnel (including managers);
strengthening control over the use of budget funds, both central and local budgets;
increasing analysis, control and responsibility for flight safety.

In turn, all these decisions should not affect the transfer of airport infrastructural facilities for lease, concession, outsourcing on appropriate, favorable conditions for the state and the region.

Since there is currently no unified state policy regarding the development of airports, especially regional communal enterprises, only the main provisions have been included in the NTSU for the period until 2030, but the Aviation Strategy, which was supposed to complement the NTSU, was not adopted. Today, the state and development of regional airports depends on local authorities, which cannot always assess the place and importance of such an infrastructure facility and its development prospects in the region and in the country.

In view of the possible risks for the development of regional airports in the future, AAUCA proposes to make a number of important decisions, namely:

Reserve, not yet unsoldered land around the airport for further development and to avoid mistakes that occurred during the preparation of airports for EURO-2012, when land near some airports was unsoldered, and then they had to be bought for millions of budget funds). These territories may be used for the construction of the same technology parks and other infrastructure.
Preservation and maintenance of highly qualified personnel, which will be so necessary during the resumption of activities (certification of infrastructure facilities - airfields, technological procedures, etc.)
Until our VICTORY, keep all existing infrastructure objects, engineering networks, airport systems, special equipment, airport equipment (especially airfields) in operational condition.

It is clear that the Russian military aggression completely changed the plans for the development of the aviation industry, we believe that all airports, including regional ones, will be restored and involved in the economic development of Ukraine.

It is important not to make decisions today, which in the future will be catastrophic for the transport infrastructure of the country and the region.

AAUCA sent similar appeals to the heads of regional and city councils, as well as military administrations that own airport complexes.