Lviv Airport is in operational condition and ready to resume its activities. This was stated by Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi in an interview with RBC-Ukraine. According to him, the key factor holding back the start of flights is security issues. Once these are resolved, the airfield will be able to accept civilian flights.

"We are talking about weeks, not months, as soon as security issues are resolved," the city head clarified. Sadovyi also noted that the "Boryspil" airport is in a similar state.

Conflict over land development

Aside from the security issue, the Mayor of Lviv raised a topic he called a "scam" with European notoriety. It concerns attempts to develop the airport's reserve land. Sadovyi cited the example of London's "Heathrow" airport, which increased 20 times over a hundred years, emphasizing the importance of preserving land for aviation infrastructure.

In Soviet times, the territory around the "Lviv" airport was about 70 hectares. Building codes prohibited the construction of residential houses there, allowing only the planting of grass and cereals. Problems arose during the decentralization and merger of communities six years ago. While many territories joined Lviv, the Sokolivka community, where the airport is partially located, decided to remain a village.

Then the Sokolivka village council made a decision to build 50,000 square meters of housing for 8,000 people. According to Sadovyi, this effectively means creating a new city without sewage, water supply, education, and medicine on land that is a reserve for the airport.

"This, of course, caused a shock, because today in the world there is a simple formula: there is a lawsuit, there is a judge, and there is a process. No city, no city. Blocked," the mayor noted.

European projects and economic prospects

Andriy Sadovyi emphasized that the European Union is implementing a large-scale project worth about 10 billion euros aimed at turning Lviv into a major transport hub. The plan includes:

  • Connecting railway communications of European standard instead of Soviet;
  • Creating a direct link between Lviv airport and the railway station;
  • Forming a single transport hub.

The mayor believes that local entrepreneurs and their lobbyists are trying to sabotage these plans for immediate profit. As proof, he cited an example of a project from the UK Ministry of Transport presented recently. According to the British plan, there is no housing provided on the airport territory, and the emphasis is on infrastructure capable of generating hundreds of millions in taxes.

"People who want to make money already today have a different vision," Sadovyi summarized.

Context of airspace closure

Recall that Ukraine completely closed its airspace for civilian aircraft on February 24, 2022 — the first day of Russia's full-scale invasion. According to a report by the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, flight restrictions may last until 2029.

Earlier, there was information that Lviv airport could be the first to resume flights provided there are security guarantees. Also, in 2023, the possibility of partially opening the airport as a humanitarian corridor with EU support was discussed, but at that time this initiative was not implemented.