Ukraine makes another step toward air travel liberalization with EU

Thursday, June 16, 2016 - 17:29 (EEST) Section: Latest news

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has ratified air travel agreements with Greece, Cyprus and Poland.
As stated in explanatory notes to the documents, the adoption and signing of the agreements with Greece and Cyprus took place within the framework of Ukraine`s participation in the Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention.
”Ratification of the documents will put in place a reliable legal mechanism of an international level that will help intensify bilateral interstate relations, promote cooperation in the aviation sector, establish business contacts and further expand the geography of flights of Ukrainian airlines,” as was noted.
Deputy Infrastructure Minister Dmytro Romenskyi has earlier stated that the agreements with Greece and Cyprus were signed in 2013 and 2011 respectively, but their full implementation was not possible due to a failure to meet requirements related to intrastate procedures.
In turn, Ukrainian MPs from the Verkhovna Rada European Integration Committee underlined that the implementation of bilateral agreements would be another step towards establishing a single EU airspace, and would facilitate activity of Ukrainian carriers and promote the European airlines on Ukraine`s aviation market.
After the Rada ratified a separate air travel agreement with Poland, Romenskyi said the ratification would enhance cooperation between the two states in the air transport sector and improve business opportunities.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine expects to sign the Open Skies agreement with the EU as a whole this summer.
Ukraine and Poland signed the air travel agreement on March 12, 2013. The agreement aims at introducing the bilateral legal framework enabling international regular air travel between Ukraine and the Republic of Poland.