Austrian Airlines believes that the same rules should apply to all the airlines operating on the Ukrainian market, and the airlines that have been operating flights from Ukraine for many years did not receive the benefits that Ryanair is expected to receive.
Austrian Airlines’ spokesperson Wilhelm Baldia stated this when asked about the airline’s opinion on the efforts that Ukraine is making to bring the Ryanair low-cost airline to the Ukrainian market, including by granting it substantial discounts at state airports.
"We very much support the efforts of the current government to liberalize and stimulate the aviation industry, but we are also surprised at how the government is giving advantages to several selected carriers and creating conditions that are clearly in line with their business models," Baldia said.
As reported, the Boryspil airport recently presented the draft of a new offer of discounts on airport charges to airlines that launch new regular international flights. The draft document proposes to increase the maximum discount on the passenger charge for takeoff and landing to 80%.
Before that, the the Ministry of Infrastructure published a draft order that proposed lowering the airport charge for the handling of passengers on international flights at the Boryspil airport. In particular, the draft order proposed charging USD 13 per passenger instead of the current USD 17.
The the Ministry of Infrastructure expected such a reaction from traditional airlines. Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelian said in a recent interview, "We are patiently explaining that it will only benefit the market and the airlines operating on it: competition will increase, traffic will increase, and people will fly more. Obviously, it is causing concern among certain classic airlines: not only the UIA, but also Lufthansa. It is also concerned about Ryanair's arrival on the Ukrainian market. The Wizz Air airline is also worried about this. Other companies that work and fly here [are also concerned].”
However, according to the minister, air travel should become more accessible and the use airplanes should ultimately become as familiar to citizens as the use of minibuses or taxis.
