Airport type Public / Military Location Zhuliany Elevation AMSL 179 m / 587 ft Elevation 179 m Number of runways 1 | Serves Kiev, Ukraine Focus city for Wizz Air Code IEV Phone +380 44 585 7254 Opened 1924 | |
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Owner City of Kiev/Govt. of Ukraine Address ul. Medovaya, 2, Kyiv, Ukraine, 02000 Similar KM Ekspres, State Aviation Museum, Car Rental Kyiv Zhulyany, Централ каса МАУ, Žulâni Profiles | ||
Igor Sikorsky Kyiv International Airport (Zhuliany) (Ukrainian: Міжнародний аеропорт "Київ" імені Ігоря Сікорського (Жуляни)) (IATA: IEV, ICAO: UKKK) is one of the two passenger airports of the Ukrainian capital Kiev. It is owned by the municipality of Kiev and located in the southern Zhuliany neighbourhood of the city. Aside from facilitating regular passenger flights, Kyiv International Airport is also the main business aviation airport in Ukraine, and one of the busiest business aviation hubs in Europe.
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Early years
The airport is known since 1923 as a military airfield that was co-used by the "Ukrpovitroshlyakh" ("Ukrainian Society of Air Communications") which in 1934 was completely integrated into Aeroflot as the latter's regional administration. The airport terminal was built only after World War II in 1949. Until the 1960s, Zhuliany was the only passenger airport serving Kiev.
In 1959, the larger Boryspil International Airport was built near the city of Boryspil, gradually replacing Zhuliany as the main airport serving Kyiv. Since that time the old "Kiev" airport became commonly known just as "Zhuliany" (or Kyiv-Zhuliany) and was used for Soviet domestic flights only.
International flights and traffic revival
After Ukraine gained independence in 1991, "Kyiv" airport began receiving international flights from nearby countries (first from its former Soviet "domestic" destinations), increasingly so since the 2000s when Ukraine's civil aviation started booming. On 27 March 2011, Wizz Air, the locally-pioneering low cost airline, moved all its operations to "Zhuliany" from the Boryspil Airport, - starting the new era of around-the-clock flights at the airport and increasing the passenger traffic by 15 to 20%.
In 2012, the airport has managed to survive the European cold wave without major flight delays or cancellations.
Surrounded by major railways, highways and residential districts, the airport has limited possibilities to expand its runway. Therefore, it is limited in the weight of aircraft that are allowed to fly in the airport (currently up to Boeing 737/Airbus A320 type). In 2013, the airport declared plans to expand the runway for additional 150 m, although stressing complete safety and operability of its current length. Other parts of the airport infrastructure are also being developed. The new "A" terminal opened on 17 May 2012, now receives all international and some domestic flights. Projects for expanding Zhuliany's taxiways and aircraft parking lots considered as well.
Recent developments
In the first half of 2013, the airport's passenger traffic rose 2.7-fold (to 816,757 passengers per year) since the beginning of the year, including 4.2-fold growth of the domestic traffic. According to the media and industry experts, once underdog Zhuliany Airport has rapidly grown into a major, and more efficient, competitor to the country's leading Boryspil Airport.
As of July 2013, Moscow, Treviso and Dortmund were the most popular international destinations from the airport, with Simferopol, Donetsk and Odessa leading among domestic destinations. Also in 2013, the airport opened a new domestic terminal and a new business terminal, with currently 3 terminals in service.
In March 2015, Wizz Air Ukraine announced that it would cease operations leading to the cancellation of several routes from their base at the airport. Only some of their former routes were taken over by its parent, Wizz Air, though the airlines has since expanded its flight network from the airport, with twenty destinations to be served by August 2017.
Between the 14th and 24th of May 2017, the airport will be closed for improvements works on the runway. Wizz Air has confirmed that it will be transferring its flights to Boryspil Airport during that period.
Passenger
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Kyiv International Airport (Zhuliany):
Neighboring aviation facilities
Road
The Airport is connected to the city's main highway infrastructure via the Povitroflotskyi Avenue, and served by a number of city transport routes, including:
as well as private bus routes. Car parking facilities at the airport itself are limited, however, long stay parking can be found in the airport's immediate vicinity. Taxis can often be found waiting directly outside the terminal, in the passenger drop-off/pick-up area.
Rail
The airport's passenger terminal is located about 0.5 km away from the Kyiv-Volynskyi rail station - a stop for elektrichka commuter trains as well as for the new intracity Urban Electric Train service.
Metro
Plans for the Podilsko-Vyhurivska Line, which is planned for construction elsewhere in the city, includes the Airport transfer station from the 'Zhulyany' Airport. The station is expected to be constructed by 2030.