Country officials open the renewed terminal at Donetsk international airport in Ukraine just in time for EURO 2012. The renewed airport boasts a seven-storey terminal capable of servicing up to 3,100 passengers per hour (previously – 700), reads the statement by Ukraine’s Infrastructure Ministry.
Donetsk airport recently introduced an artificial runway suitable for all types of airplanes, including the heavy Boeing 747 and Airbus A380. It boasts the tallest in the country 52 meter control tower. The International Civil Aviation Organization granted the airport the ICAO III A category, allowing it to accept landings at zero visibility conditions.
“At the beginning of the 1930s the constructors of this airport had no idea what a high technology site it would grow into,” said the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych at the opening ceremony on May 14 th. The Airport’s renewed infrastructure will help manage the increasing number of passengers arriving in the eastern Ukrainian city for EURO 2012.
Ukrainian state budget contributed USD 758 million into the Donetsk airport reconstruction. Additionally, private investments and local budget funded the construction. Curiously, in November of 2011 the airport was named after renowned classical composer Serhiy Prokofiev, who originated from Donetsk.
EURO 2012 triggered reconstruction works at Kyiv and Lviv airports, while Donetsk and Kharkiv ones were built from scratch. In 2012 western Ukrainian EURO 2012 host Lviv opened a new terminal. It services up to 2,100 persons per hour. Interestingly, Budapest airport has the channel capacity of 970 persons per hour (8.5 million a year).
The Airport in Kharkiv boasts a new 2.5 kilometer runway (allowing the airport to service Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 landings), renewed infrastructure, and a terminal. New terminal F at Boryspil airport in Kyiv has a waiting zone of 5,670 square meters and capacity of 2,400 passengers per hour. Comparably, the waiting area in Moscow’s Domodedovo airport is 2,900 square meters.
Final renovations are under way at Kyiv airports Zhuliany and Boryspil. In May 2012 Zhuliany will get a new terminal with a total area of 14,270 square meters and channel capacity of 320 persons per hour. In June 2012 Boryspil will open additional terminal D, servicing over 20 planes at a time. Currently, Boryspil operates 62 percent of passenger traffic in the country.
