It’s definitely not the hub it used to be before the coronavirus changed everyone’s life, but special and charter flights are still coming and going from Kyiv Boryspil Airport since the March 17 ban on air travel. Traffic is but a trickle for Ukraine’s largest airport, which handles 62 percent of the nation’s air traffic and 15 million passengers in 2019. The flight board shows 19 arrivals and 16 departures today. International travel has been slashed globally, however, as flight restrictions with no end in sight have forced airlines to seek government bailouts to avert bankruptcy. Kyiv’s airport is running at minimal capacity, with the main Terminal B closed and the old Terminal F being put back in use. Ukraine’s government extended the travel and other restrictions until April 24. The curbs on movement are designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus which has already killed four people in Ukraine and infected more than 100 people. More information about the Boryspil airport’s operations during the current lockdown can be found here.
CORONAVIRUS IN UKRAINE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Ukraine has extended its quarantine measures until April 24.
- The measures shuttered most everything but hospitals, supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, gas stations and other critical enterprises.
- There have been 116 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ukraine. The first case was identified on March 3.
- Four people have died from COVID-19 in Ukraine. One person recovered.
- Three Ukrainians died from COVID-19 in Italy.
- How the Ukrainian government has been responding: TIMELINE
- Misinformation on coronavirus is going viral in Ukraine.
- Doctor’s advice: How to stay safe.
- Foreign Ministry: What you need to know about traveling to and from Ukraine now
- Why the Kyiv Post isn’t making its coverage free in the times of COVID-19.
Effects on economy:
- Here’s what the virus is doing to Ukraine’s economy.
- Ukrainian businesses respond to the crisis.
- The virus disrupts the transport sector. Ukrainian airlines canceled some flights to 16 countries due to the novel coronavirus.
- The National Bank of Ukraine continued to cut the policy rate while trying to buffer the hryvnia from coronavirus panic.
- The former minister of economy says half a million Ukrainians may lose their jobs in the COVID-19 crisis.
