The Boryspil international airport and other Ukrainian airports should get rid of the Russian language and communist names, Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelian said during a staff meeting on 17 October, the Ministry of Infrastructure announced.
According to Omelian, all the information that is published on electronic boards, signboards, and signposts or announced on loudspeakers in airports should be in the Ukrainian and English languages. "There should be no Russian language. It is not just a matter of use of the state language, but primarily a question of self-respect. Likewise, employees of airports should use the Ukrainian or English language when dealing with passengers," Omelian said.
He also stressed that the names of the enterprises and institutions that bear the stamps of “Sovietization” would have to be changed in in accordance with the law on de-communization.
"If the airport has a terminal, warehouse, or even a coffee shop with a name in which there is a Soviet trace, the name needs to be changed by December 1. This is a matter of principle," Omelian said.
Another issue is the transliteration of Ukrainian names in the English language. The Ministry of Infrastructure intends to secure resolution of this issue through the Cabinet of Ministers, i.e. elimination of different ways of writing Ukrainian words in the English language.
