Despite a ban on travel put in place on March 17 to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, planes continue to take off and land in Ukraine.
The reason? To bring Ukrainians home and let foreigners exit.
The two airlines still operating in the country are Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) and Sky Up, and the safest way to learn about upcoming departures is by consulting the website of the main Kyiv Boryspil International Airport, the only airport in the country still operating.
About 20,000 Ukrainians have contacted their country’s diplomats abroad in hopes of finding a way home, Foreigner Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on the Ukraine 24 TV Channel on March 26.
However, he stressed that the logistics of bringing them home would be significantly complicated by a total stop to passenger traffic announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier that same day.
Flight timetables are changing swiftly to adapt to the emergency situation, Tetiana Yarosh, a spokesperson for Boryspil airport, told the Kyiv Post on March 27. But the airport is ready for last minute flights, she added.
“It is an hour-by-hour situation,” Yarosh said.
Unexpected flights
On March 26, Zelensky said that the government would close the state borders on the evening of March 27 and suspend all passengers traffic as yet another measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
But companies continue to operate additional special flights to help Ukrainian citizens return home, and flights are still scheduled until March 29.
UIA announced on its website that it would schedule flights to Brussels, London, Paris, Athens, Cairo, Tbilisi and Zurich on March 27. The website of Kyiv Boryspil International Airport also showed UIA flights to Dubai and Bangkok on March 28, but UIA’s website did not display them at the time.
Flights from Brussels, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Nice, Athens, Cairo, Madrid, Barcelona and Zurich were scheduled on March 27, followed by flights from Dubai, New York and Tbilisi on March 28 and one flight from Bangkok on March 29.
So far, UIA has helped over 17,000 Ukrainians return home, and the carrier is willing to carry approximately 2,000 more passengers back to Ukraine, the company stated on Facebook on March 26.
Ukrainian low-cost carrier Sky Up stated on Facebook on March 26 that it would cancel all its flight until April 24, but still scheduled numerous flights for foreigners.
On March 27, flights departed to Frankfurt, Paris, Warsaw and Berlin. Other flights were already sold out.
The company’s website also showed flights arriving from Prague, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Minsk, Paris, London, Vilnius and Frankfurt on March 28.
Kyiv Boryspil International Airport showed SkyUp flights departing to Prague, Frankfurt, Vilnius and Minsk, but it is unclear how to book them, as the company’s website did not show them.
3 planes per hour
Yarosh says that Boryspil’s timetables only contain short-term information. “So far, we only know (flights) until March 28 for sure,” she said.
She added that the airport is in constant communication with air carriers and the Ministry of Infrastructure, but that it has to adapt to airlines’ decisions. “First, air companies discuss with the Ministry of Infrastructure, and then we open the runways,” she said.
But for medical safety reasons and to avoid crowded queues, the airport can only receive 3 planes per hour. Upon arrival, passengers undergo temperature screenings on board the plane.
The Ministry of Health has sent specialists from the department of epidemiology to terminal B of the airport, where they installed facilities to test passengers for COVID-19. The procedure consists of a quick blood test, “1 to 2 minutes,” Yarosh said.
If there is any suspicion that a passenger is infected, he or she will be sent to a medical facility. Passengers who do not show any symptoms have to self-isolate at home for 14 days.
Yarosh says the staff at the airport is working around the clock to receive passengers from unexpected flights.
“We are ready,” she said.
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 226 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ukraine. The first case was identified on March 3.
- Five 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.
