Boryspil Airport
Encyclopedia
Boryspil International Airport is an international airport
located 6 km (3.7 mi) west of Boryspil
, 29 km (18 mi) east of Kiev
. It is Ukraine
's largest airport, serving the major part of international flights of the country, and is one of three airports that serve Kiev, along with the smaller Zhulyany Airport and Gostomel Airport
, a cargo facility used primarily by Antonov
.
The airport is a member of Airports Council International
.
ordered establishment of regular civil air traffic to the then military airfield near Boryspil. On 7 July 1959 the new airport (named Kiev-Tsentralnyi) received its first scheduled flight. It was Aeroflot
's Tupolev Tu-104
en route from Moscow
, carrying 100 passengers and about 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg) of cargo aboard. The first routes served were Moscow–Kiev–Moscow and Leningrad
–Kiev–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 the airport had been served only by aircraft based in Moscow and other cities of the Soviet Union. A new passenger terminal of Boryspil airport was opened in 1965. Later that year an automatic landing assistance system was installed in the airport.
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 1960-1970s. As of 1974 it was consisting of four fleets of turbofan
aircraft (Tu-104, Tu-134
, Tu-154
planes) and two fleets of turboprop
aircraft (Ilyushin Il-18
planes).
Towards the final decades of the Cold War
, the Soviet Air Force
maintained a presence at the airport with 1 VTAP (1st Military Aviation Transportation Regiment) flying Ilyushin Il-76
cargo jets.
By 1980s, Boryspil airport had begun receiving limited international flights. The additional passenger services and customs
/border control
groups were established for that purpose. However, ordinary Soviet citizens were not allowed to depart abroad from Kiev, instead being restricted to flying only from Moscow airports. In the late 1980s, Mikhail Saakashvili, the President of modern Georgia
, served his conscript service in the Soviet border guard
's Boryspil Separate Group that was maintaining border control in the airport.
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 opened for any 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 not only destined but also transit flights of the foreign airlines. The strategy of the airport's development is stressing 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. The airport has ILS CAT IIIa status.
In 2002 the airport was certified under the ISO 9001 quality management system.
It is one of Eastern Europe's largest airports with over six million passengers travelling in 2008. The Airport 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 last year, more than it handled in 2007.
, was not enough to handle all international flights from the airport. 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 also plans to expand the airport further by building several new terminals. The government has been having meetings with the owners of land around the airport, trying to buy more land for airport expansion. The construction of Terminal D was approved on 28 July 2008 and is expected to be completed by 2011 at a cost of UAH 1.661 billion (USD 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 and requires redevelopment, was to be reconstructed in 2009-2010. The reason for the delay in its the reconstruction was the fact that Terminal B needs to be fully operational first. When Terminal D opens (building began on 24 October 2008), platform M can be reconstructed without having a major impact on traffic.
A new runway will be constructed from 2012 to 2014. The construction of Terminal D is slated to be completed by the beginning of 2012, increasing the airport's passenger handling facilities significantly. As of November 1, 2010, Terminal F is in operation. By 2020, if all plans proceed, the airport should have a capacity of 18 million passengers per year.
New hotels will also open near Boryspil Airport. A Radisson hotel at Boryspil airport will open in late 2011.
, which affords the airport an 18 km motorway grade link to the outskirts of Kiev, thus making the airport easier to reach by car. In addition to this, Boryspil has a large number of secure and long-stay car parks as well as designated drop-off points and taxi stands. Taxis can be booked for a set price at counters inside the airports terminal buildings. Currently the following public bus line serves the airport:
In August 2010, the Ukrainian government announced plans to build a rail link from the airport to Kiev's central station, aiming to complete this project by spring 2012, in time for the Euro 2012 football tournament to be held in Poland
and Ukraine
. Currently the government expects to use new trains of a higher speed than those typical for Ukrainian railways
. In September 2010, an agreement was reached with the Chinese Government and a Chinese construction firm to fund and begin work on this project. The line's route will comprise an 8 km electrified spur from an existing rail line, terminating in the airport's central terminal area.
The line will be served by a dedicated passenger terminal at Kiev's central station and will have a small number of intermediate stops (including the Darnytsia Railway Station
) before finally reaching the airport. There are two stations planned to serve the airport, one of which will serve terminal D, whilst the other will be located close to terminals B, C and F.
The airport has three operating terminals:
There is also one further terminal under construction:
In addition there is one planned terminal:
The domestic Terminal A was closed on September 15, 2011.
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located 6 km (3.7 mi) west of Boryspil
Boryspil
Boryspil is a city located in the Kiev Oblast in northern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Boryspil Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast....
, 29 km (18 mi) east of Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. It is Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
's largest airport, serving the major part of international flights of the country, and is one of three airports that serve Kiev, along with the smaller Zhulyany Airport and Gostomel Airport
Gostomel Airport
Antonov Airport ), formerly known as Hostomel Airport ) is an international cargo airport in Ukraine, located near Hostomel — the northwestern suburb of Kiev...
, a cargo facility used primarily by Antonov
Antonov
Antonov, or Antonov Aeronautical Scientist/Technical Complex , formerly the Antonov Design Bureau, is a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and services company with particular expertise in the field of very large aircraft construction. Antonov ASTC is a state-owned commercial company...
.
The airport is a member of Airports Council International
Airports Council International
Airports Council International is the association of the world’s airports. It is a non profit organization, whose prime purpose is to advance the interests of airports and to promote professional excellence in airport management and operations...
.
History
On 22 June 1959, the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSRUkrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
ordered establishment of regular civil air traffic to the then military airfield near Boryspil. On 7 July 1959 the new airport (named Kiev-Tsentralnyi) received its first scheduled flight. It was Aeroflot
Aeroflot
OJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines , commonly known as Aeroflot , is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation, based on passengers carried per year...
's Tupolev Tu-104
Tupolev Tu-104
The Tupolev Tu-104 was a twin-engined medium-range turbojet-powered Soviet airliner and the world's first successful jet airliner...
en route from Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, carrying 100 passengers and about 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg) of cargo aboard. The first routes served were Moscow–Kiev–Moscow and Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
–Kiev–Leningrad.
In November 1960, the first permanent air group consisting of Tu-104 and Antonov An-10
Antonov An-10
The Antonov An-10 was a four-engined turboprop passenger transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union.-Design and development:...
planes was assigned to the airport. Until then the airport had been served only by aircraft based in Moscow and other cities of the Soviet Union. A new passenger terminal of Boryspil airport was opened in 1965. Later that year an automatic landing assistance system was installed in the airport.
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 1960-1970s. As of 1974 it was consisting of four fleets of turbofan
Turbofan
The turbofan is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used for aircraft propulsion. A turbofan combines two types of engines, the turbo portion which is a conventional gas turbine engine, and the fan, a propeller-like ducted fan...
aircraft (Tu-104, Tu-134
Tupolev Tu-134
The Tupolev Tu-134 is a twin-engined airliner, similar to the American Douglas DC-9 and the French Sud Aviation Caravelle, and built in the Soviet Union from 1966–1984. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain other Russian airliners , it can operate from unpaved...
, Tu-154
Tupolev Tu-154
The Tupolev Tu-154 is a three-engine medium-range narrow-body airliner designed in the mid 1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. As the mainstay 'workhorse' of Soviet and Russian airlines for several decades, it serviced over a sixth of the world's landmass and carried half of all passengers flown...
planes) and two fleets of turboprop
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
aircraft (Ilyushin Il-18
Ilyushin Il-18
The Ilyushin Il-18 is a large turboprop airliner that became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era as well as one of the most popular and durable, having first flown in 1957 and still in use over 50 years later. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades...
planes).
Towards the final decades of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the Soviet Air Force
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
maintained a presence at the airport with 1 VTAP (1st Military Aviation Transportation Regiment) flying Ilyushin Il-76
Ilyushin Il-76
The Ilyushin Il-76 is a multi-purpose four-engined strategic airlifter designed by Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a commercial freighter in 1967. Intended as a replacement for the Antonov An-12, the Il-76 was designed for delivering heavy machinery to remote, poorly-serviced areas...
cargo jets.
By 1980s, Boryspil airport had begun receiving limited international flights. The additional passenger services and customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
/border control
Border control
Border controls are measures used by a country to monitor or regulate its borders.The control of the flow of many people, animals and goods across a border may be controlled by government Customs services. Security is enforced by various kinds of Border Guards and Coast Guards...
groups were established for that purpose. However, ordinary Soviet citizens were not allowed to depart abroad from Kiev, instead being restricted to flying only from Moscow airports. In the late 1980s, Mikhail Saakashvili, the President of modern Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, served his conscript service in the Soviet border guard
USSR Border Troops
Soviet Border Troops, were the militarized border guard of the Soviet Union, subordinated to its subsequently reorganized state security agency: first to Cheka/OGPU, then to NKVD/MGB and, finally, to KGB...
's Boryspil Separate Group that was maintaining border control in the airport.
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
Air Ukraine
Air Ukraine was a state-owned airline from Ukraine, serving as flag carrier of the country from 1992 to 2002. Headquartered in Kiev, Air Ukraine operated scheduled passenger and cargo flights mostly on domestice routes or within the Commonwealth of Independent States, but also to other European...
to serve it. The airport was opened for any 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 not only destined but also transit flights of the foreign airlines. The strategy of the airport's development is stressing 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. The airport has ILS CAT IIIa status.
In 2002 the airport was certified under the ISO 9001 quality management system.
It is one of Eastern Europe's largest airports with over six million passengers travelling in 2008. The Airport 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 last year, more than it handled in 2007.
Development
Boryspil International Airport handles most of Ukraine's international traffic. Terminal B, with only eleven gates, two of which were air bridgesJetway
A jet bridge is an enclosed, movable connector which extends from an airport terminal gate to an airplane, allowing passengers to board and disembark without having to go outside...
, was not enough to handle all international flights from the airport. 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 also plans to expand the airport further by building several new terminals. The government has been having meetings with the owners of land around the airport, trying to buy more land for airport expansion. The construction of Terminal D was approved on 28 July 2008 and is expected to be completed by 2011 at a cost of UAH 1.661 billion (USD 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 and requires redevelopment, was to be reconstructed in 2009-2010. The reason for the delay in its the reconstruction was the fact that Terminal B needs to be fully operational first. When Terminal D opens (building began on 24 October 2008), platform M can be reconstructed without having a major impact on traffic.
A new runway will be constructed from 2012 to 2014. The construction of Terminal D is slated to be completed by the beginning of 2012, increasing the airport's passenger handling facilities significantly. As of November 1, 2010, Terminal F is in operation. By 2020, if all plans proceed, the airport should have a capacity of 18 million passengers per year.
New hotels will also open near Boryspil Airport. A Radisson hotel at Boryspil airport will open in late 2011.
Ground transport
Boryspil airport is well connected to the Ukrainian capital and its wider metropolitan area both through its location and the public transport links which serve it. The airport's entrance is located at the 'Boryspil' junction of the M03 national roadHighway M03 (Ukraine)
' is a state international highway in Ukraine connecting Kiev with Dovzhansky on the border with Russia, where it connects to Russian International Highway '....
, which affords the airport an 18 km motorway grade link to the outskirts of Kiev, thus making the airport easier to reach by car. In addition to this, Boryspil has a large number of secure and long-stay car parks as well as designated drop-off points and taxi stands. Taxis can be booked for a set price at counters inside the airports terminal buildings. Currently the following public bus line serves the airport:
- 322 'Sky Bus' - Boryspil Intl Airport - Central Railway StationKiev Passenger Railway StationKiev Passenger Railway Station is a complex of Kiev's Central Station and adjoining "Southern Station," plus the adjacent Suburban Station, together serving more than 170,000 passengers per day . "Southern Station" is a misnomer in virtually universal usage in Kiev, referring to an entrance on the...
(transfer for metroKiev MetroThe Kiev Metro is a metro system that is the mainstay of Kiev's public transport. It was the first rapid transit system in Ukraine and the third one built in the USSR . It now has three lines with a total length of 63.7 kilometres and 49 stations...
)
In August 2010, the Ukrainian government announced plans to build a rail link from the airport to Kiev's central station, aiming to complete this project by spring 2012, in time for the Euro 2012 football tournament to be held in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Currently the government expects to use new trains of a higher speed than those typical for Ukrainian railways
Ukrzaliznytsia
Ukrzaliznytsia , also known as Ukrainian Railways, is the State Administration of Railroad Transportation in Ukraine, monopoly that controls vast majority of the railroad transportation in the country with a combined total length of track of over 23,000 km, which makes Ukrainian railroad...
. In September 2010, an agreement was reached with the Chinese Government and a Chinese construction firm to fund and begin work on this project. The line's route will comprise an 8 km electrified spur from an existing rail line, terminating in the airport's central terminal area.
The line will be served by a dedicated passenger terminal at Kiev's central station and will have a small number of intermediate stops (including the Darnytsia Railway Station
Darnytsia Railway Station
Ukrzaliznytsia's Darnytsia Railway Station is the largest railroad station of the Ukrainian capital Kiev, located in the Left-bank Darnytsia area....
) before finally reaching the airport. There are two stations planned to serve the airport, one of which will serve terminal D, whilst the other will be located close to terminals B, C and F.
Terminals
The airport has three operating terminals:
- Terminal B, domestic/international flights - (will operate as a domestic/international terminal until the completion of Terminal D)
- Terminal C, business jets and VIP passengers
- Terminal F, was opened on 21 September 2010 as a home base for Ukraine International AirlinesUkraine International AirlinesCJSC Ukraine International Airlines , Aviyakompaniya Mizhnarodni Avialiniyi Ukrayiny) is one of the flag carriers of Ukraine, based in Kiev. It operates scheduled domestic and international passenger and cargo services to cities in western Europe...
. Terminal F started handling regular flights as of October 31, 2010 with an initial capacity of 900 passengers/hour.
There is also one further terminal under construction:
- Terminal D, construction of which began on 24 March 2008 with a 3,100 passengers per hour capacity is expected to be completed by December 2011.
In addition there is one planned terminal:
- Terminal E, with a 2,000 passengers per hour capacity is expected to be completed ca. 2015
The domestic Terminal A was closed on September 15, 2011.
Airlines and destinations
Cargo airlines
External links
- Boryspil International Airport, official website