Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) doubts the likelihood of launching regular flights between Kiev and Toronto this year.
"Toronto this year is under a big question. Toronto is the most expensive airport in North America. In addition, we have passed an audit related to aviation security and technologies. Next, we need to either ‘pedal’ or not ‘pedal’ administrative issues. Everyone seems to support it, but Canadian airlines are in no hurry to enter into such active commercial agreements with UIA," the company's Vice President for Commerce Serhii Fomenko said at a press conference on Wednesday, the CFTS correspondent reports.
He explained that financing the flights would require purchase of large amounts of foreign currency, which is currently difficult to purchase because of the restrictions imposed by the National Bank of Ukraine.
"When the prime minister of Canada came here, we requested that help should manifest not only in moral support, but also in notarial support and some favorable conditions for one or two years from the start of operation of the flights. It takes time. The question has been asked, but there are no real answers yet," Fomenko said.
As reported earlier, the UIA recently received official notification from the Canadian aviation authorities that it has passed an aviation security audit and received permission to operate flights to Canadian cities.
The airline planned to launch Kiev-Toronto flights in summer 2015.
Founded in 1992, the UIA is the largest airline company in Ukraine. It has a fleet of 32 aircraft, of which five are Embraer 190 aircraft, four are Boeing 767 long-haul aircraft, and 23 are Boeing 737 medium-range aircraft, including 12 new generation Boeing 737-800/900 aircraft. According to the National Commission on Securities and the Stock Market, the shareholders of the UIA are the Kyiv-based Capital Investment Project (74.16%) and the Cyprus-based Ontobet Promotions (15.91%).
