Further indirect competitors serving other Moscow airports are Aeroflot, operating twice-daily from Sheremetyevo, and AeroSvit, which flies 25 times weekly to Sheremetyevo and eight times a week to Vnukovo.

Explaining the background, UIA’s president Yuri Miroshnikov said: “The launch of the Kiev – Moscow flight is a landmark event for UIA. During 19 years of operations on the market, our airline has been specializing in air transportation from Ukraine to Europe. When establishing UIA in 1992, the Ukrainian Government did not prioritize either flights to Moscow, or the development of eastern destinations. Subsequently, UIA’s attempts to launch flights between Kiev and Moscow were unsuccessful due to the restrictive provisions of the Air Services Agreement between Ukraine and Russia. This situation could not last forever, since the air transportation market between Kiev and Moscow is the largest one for Ukraine in terms of traffic. Naturally, at last the global process of air transportation liberalization has affected this route. The framework of the Air Services Agreement has been extended significantly, allowing us to operate this flight today. We are confident that this new UIA route will provide passengers with new opportunities, help to strengthen partnership between the Ukrainian and Russian airlines, and promote further development of fraternal relations between our peoples.”

(Anna Aero)

Domodedova Airport