Kyiv Boryspil Airport

Boryspil International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт «Бориспіль») is an international airport in Boryspil, east of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is Ukraine's largest airport, serving 65% of its passenger air traffic, including all its intercontinental flights and a majority of international flights. It is one of two passenger airports that serve Kyiv along with the smaller Zhuliany Airport. Boryspil International Airport was a member of Airports Council International.

History

Early years

On 22 June 1959, the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR ordered the establishment of regular civil air traffic to the then military airfield near Boryspil. On 7 July 1959, the new airport (named Kyiv-Tsentralnyi) received its first scheduled flight. It was Aeroflot's Tupolev Tu-104 en route from Moscow, carrying 100 passengers and about of cargo. The first routes served were Moscow–Kyiv-Moscow and Leningrad–Kyiv–Leningrad.

In November 1960, the first permanent air group, consisting of Tu-104 and Antonov An-10 planes, was assigned to the airport. Until then it had been served only by aircraft based in Moscow and other cities of the Soviet Union. A new passenger terminal was opened in 1965. Later that year, an automatic landing assistance system was installed.

In 1963, the Ukrainian Territorial Administration of Civil Aviation formed its Boryspil subdivision consisting of the airport and its air group. The air group grew significantly in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1974 it consisted of four fleets of turbojet aircraft (Tu-104 planes), turbofan aircraft ( Tu-134, Tu-154 planes) and two fleets of turboprop aircraft (Ilyushin Il-18 planes).

Toward the final decades of the Cold War, the Soviet Air Force maintained a presence at Boryspil Airport with 1 VTAP (1st Military Aviation Transportation Regiment) flying Ilyushin Il-76 cargo jets.

By the 1980s, Boryspil had begun receiving limited international flights. Additional passenger services and customs/border control groups were established for that purpose. However, ordinary Soviet citizens were not allowed to depart abroad from Kyiv, being restricted to fly only from Moscow airports.

Development since the 1990s

In 1993, the Ministry of Transportation of the newly independent Ukraine reorganized the airport into the Boryspil State International Airport and created a local subdivision of Air Ukraine to serve it. The airport was subject to a $15 million facelift by a construction consortium led by MDA – A Dublin-based contractor headed by Ronnie Petrie – with designs by UK consultants Mark Homer Design and opened for domestic and international passengers and flights. The number of air and passenger traffic has been growing ever since.

Early in the 2000s, Boryspil became a hub airport serving destined and transit flights of foreign airlines. Its development strategy stresses the hub role since domestic passenger demand is growing insufficiently compared to the possible transit traffic. In 2001, a new runway was completed, and the airport carried 1.5 million passengers. It is certified for Category III A ILS approaches. In 2002, Boryspil airport was certified under the ISO 9001 quality management system.

It is one of Eastern Europe's largest airports with over 6 million passengers traveling in 2008. It consistently accounted for between 60% and 70% of Ukraine's air travel demand and, despite a drop of 13% in 2009, it handled 5.8 million passengers, more than it handled in 2007.

The airport survived the 2012 European cold wave without major flight delays or cancellations. According to the media and industry experts, in 2013 once underdog in-city Zhuliany Airport has rapidly grown into a major, and more efficient, competitor to the still-leading Boryspil Airport.

Boryspil International Airport handles most of Ukraine's international traffic. Terminal B, with only eleven gates, two of which were air bridges, was not enough to handle all international flights. This was the reason for the expansion of that terminal, which started in 2005. The first-stage expansion of Terminal B was opened on 27 January 2006. In 2008, passport control within Terminal B Departures was moved further east (along with the entrance to the main duty-free shop so that it remains airside).

There are plans to expand the airport further by building several new terminals. The government has been having meetings with the owners of nearby land, trying to buy more land for expansion. The construction of Terminal D was approved on 28 July 2008 and was completed in 2012 at a cost of UAH 1.661 billion (US$208 million). The terminal will have a capacity of 1,500 passengers per hour and cover an area of 44.9 hectares. Platform M, which is connected to Terminal B, was to be reconstructed in 2009–2010. The reason for the delay in its reconstruction was the fact that Terminal B needs to be fully operational first. After Terminal D opened (building began on 24 October 2008), platform M can be reconstructed without having a major impact on traffic.

The construction of Terminal D was completed in 2012, with the terminal opening to passengers on 28 May 2012, increasing passenger handling facilities significantly. Terminal A, B, and F were taken out of operation in 2016. Expansion plans were estimated to handle a capacity of 18 million passengers per year.

Damage in 2022

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine closed airspace to civilian flights due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, thus closing the airport. Shortly aferward, the airport was hit by Russian missiles targeting Ukrainian infrastructure.

Terminals and infrastructure

Terminals

Boryspil International Airport has two operational passenger terminals (D) and (F), one cargo terminal, and a VIP terminal. The largely overcrowded former domestic Terminal A was closed on 15 September 2011, in favor of transferring all domestic operations to nearby Terminal B. In 2013, all domestic and international operations were transferred from Terminal B to Terminal D.

Terminal A

Terminal "A" specialized in servicing air passengers traveling through the territory of Ukraine. There was a waiting room (2nd floor), toilet (ground floor), currency exchange offices and air tickets. The terminal also housed representative offices of domestic airlines. There were cafes and guarded car parks near Terminal A, as well as airport lockers.

Most flights were operated by AeroSvit and Dniproavia, and Terminal A also served domestic flights of passengers of Ukraine International Airlines and Motor-Sich.

From 15 September 2011, all domestic flights from Boryspil are operated from Terminal B, and Terminal A is closed. Minister of Transport and Communications of Ukraine Kostiantyn Yefimenko said that in 2018, terminals "A" and "B" of Boryspil Airport are planned to be demolished to build a new terminal.

Terminal B

Terminal B, the original Soviet-constructed building, used to serve domestic and international flights. It has undergone extensive, long-term reconstruction. The terminal hosted shops, cafes, travel agencies and banks, as well as offices of airlines and a business center. The ground floor features luggage storage, waiting-area, and check-in desks, whilst security and passport (immigration) control, the main departure lounge and the terminal's boarding gates are on the second floor.

After passport control, passengers wait in the departure lounge where there is a business lounge, a number of cafes, restaurants and duty-free shops. There is free Wi-Fi access in the building. The terminal has two jetbridges and several bus-boarding stands. It is now used for charter flights for Hasidic Pilgrims participating in Rosh Hashanah kibbutz in Ukraine.

Terminal D

Terminal D, construction of which began on 24 March 2008, was opened on 28 May 2012 with an initial capacity of 3,100 passengers per hour. It received its first arrivals passengers on 29 May 2012.

Terminal D serves domestic and international flights. It is also a hub and a home base of Ukraine International Airlines. It has been designed to support an integrated system for monitoring and directing arriving and departing passengers. This has been ensured by implementing a scheme of movement based on the principle of multi-level zoning — departing passengers use the airport's upper floors, whilst those arriving and yet to pass through immigration are processed on a lower level. The ground and first floors are used for airside service and the sorting of baggage.

Airside, the first floor is used for arrivals zone and baggage hall. The fourth floor is reserved for airlines' lounges. The terminal can be accessed from the airport's central access road for arrivals and in the same way but via a ramp for departures level. The building features both jetbridges and bus boarding stands and is equipped to handle wide-body aircraft such as Ukraine International Airlines' Boeing 777-200ERs.

The Ukrainian Border Guard and State Customs Service maintain control points for arriving and departing passengers (40 passport booths for arrivals and 28 for departures). The terminal has 11 gates equipped with jetways and additional 'bus gates'.

Terminal D regularly features Ukrainian art exhibitions by such notables as Maria Prymachenko and Yuriy Khimich, organised by the art fund "Artaniya".

Terminal F

Terminal F is a passenger terminal mostly used by low-cost carriers and was opened on 21 September 2010 as a home base for Ukraine International Airlines. Terminal F started handling regular flights as of 31 October 2010, with an initial capacity of 900 passengers/hour. The terminal is not equipped with jetways as it was originally meant to serve low-cost airlines. However, the higher level of service offered led to the transfer of many scheduled European and Asian carriers to the terminal.

The opening of Terminal F greatly reduced the overcrowding at Terminal B, which had previously been Boryspil's only operating international terminal. Upon opening of Terminal F and expansion/reconfiguration of Terminal B's airside departures to serve domestic flights, the airport was able to close the largely outdated domestic Terminal A.

This terminal served UTair-Ukraine, airBaltic, Armavia, Austrian Airlines, Belavia, British Airways, LOT Polish Airlines, Georgian Airways, Libyan Airlines, Lufthansa, Finnair, KLM, S7 Airlines, Turkish Airlines and others. All of them were transferred to Terminal D. Ukraine International Airlines transferred all of its regular flights to Terminal D on 30 May 2013 but UIA's charter flights stayed in Terminal F. It was expected that Terminal F would be also used for low-cost carriers.

In October 2013, the terminal was used for charter flights and low-cost airlines. It serviced three or four, sometimes eight, flights a day.Terminal F of Boryspil airport to become cargo terminal
, Interfax-Ukraine (15 October 2013) On 15 October 2003, airport management decided that terminal F will be used as a cargo terminal in the future. On 27 October 2013, all flights were transferred from terminal F to terminal D.

Terminal F was reopened on 31 March 2019, and is used as a passenger facility for low-cost carriers, especially Ryanair. The following airlines have confirmed their move to Terminal F: Ryanair, Yanair

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