Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelian is hoping that an Open Skies agreement between Ukraine and the European Union can be signed the day after Brexit.
Omelian stated this at a meeting with French Transport Minister Élisabeth Borne during a working visit to France on Friday, the CFTS portal reports, citing the Interfax Ukraine news agency.
“I am grateful for the active position of France regarding the Common Aviation Area because the actual obstacle now is the lack of a common aviation area between Ukraine and the EU. I very much hope that we will be able to sign this agreement the day after Brexit,” Omelian said.
Borne assured Ukraine of France’s support on the issue of signing an Open Skies agreement with the European Union.
As previously reported, the Ministry of Infrastructure has announced that an Open Skies agreement between Ukraine and the European Union could be signed in the spring of 2019.
The accession of Ukraine to the European Common Aviation Area is an important step in the development of the country's aviation industry. Liberalization of the airspace will attract new airlines to Ukraine and increase competition on the market, which will make air transport much more affordable.
In accordance with the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, civil aviation is governed by a separate Open Skies agreement, which was initiated in 2013 but not yet signed. The signing of the agreement has been postponed twice at the initiative of the European Union. The main reason for the delay in signing the agreement is the lack of consensus between Spain and Britain on the wording of the application of the agreement to Gibraltar.
In addition, Ukraine is required to bring its aviation regulations in line with the European Union’s legislation on aviation.
As the CFTS portal reported earlier, the Ryanair low-cost airline began selling tickets with a proviso regarding exit of Britain from the European Union because this may entail certain restrictions on airlines flying to Britain.
