After taking a COVID-19 blow, Kyiv International Airport also known as Zhuliany expects to rebound strongly this year.
COVID and the following travel restrictions did strike a decent blow to airports all over the world. But Kyiv International Airport or Zhuliany expects traffick to come back to 1.4 million passengers in 2021 up from 704,500 last year, Kyiv Post reports.
Still, Zhuliany has not caught up with the numbers of 2019 and is unlikely to do o. 2019 was a record year, and 2021 traffic is only expected to reach 60-65 percent of the volume, according to Kyiv Post.
Because of COVID-19, Ukraine earlier made stricter rules for entry. The new rules say that foreigners and Ukrainians, who aren’t vaccinated, will have to self-isolate for 14 days if they have been in either Russia or India in the last 14 days.
The rules also say that Ukrainians and foreigners without and with a Ukrainian residence permit will need to show either a negative PCR or antigen test – not older than 72 hours – or proof of complete vaccination. If you are not fully vaccinated, you can take a test within 72 hours in Ukraine, and if it is negative, you will not be required to self-isolate.
Arabian influx
Eugene Belik, who is the director of development at Zhuliany Airport told Interfax on September 31 especially tourism from the Middle East has helped the airport bounce back to decent numbers.
“We look quite positively at all the countries of the Middle East- their passengers are very interested in Ukraine,” Belik stated. “After the quarantine, the flow of tourists from these countries increased by 5-6%, which is due, in particular, to the arrival of Flynas.”
In July, a Saudi discount airline arrived at the Ukrainian market which helped many Saudis escape the extreme temperatures of the dessert cities of Riyadh and Jeddah. Also, Ukrainian discount airline SkyUp has opened a route between Riyadh and Kyiv.
Ukraine decided to extend the visa-free regime to the Middle Eastern countries of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, so their citizens are not required to have visa for stays up to 90 days within a 180-day period – the same privilege that EU citizens enjoy.
