You're reading: Dnipro left without flights to Turkey

Turkey last week took retaliatory measures against Ukrainian airline Dniproavia after Turkish Airlines’ flights to Dnipro and Ivano-Frankivsk airports in Ukraine were suspended, the Ukrainian airline has announced.

Dniproavia said its flights from Dnipro to Istanbul would be canceled from Oct. 30 until March 25 as the Turkish authorities had not provided landing permits.

That leaves Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth largest city located 391 kilometers southeast of Kyiv, without any direct air connection to Turkey for the next five months. The nearest available flights to Turkey take off from the airport in Zaporizhzhya.

The decision against Dniproavia was taken at a meeting in Ankara on Oct. 12-13, during which an agreement was signed to increase the number of flights to Istanbul from Lviv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Vinnitsya, and Kharkiv. A new direct flight between Ankara and Kyiv was also announced.

Technical reasons

In March, Turkish Airlines announced a new route between Ivano-Frankivsk and Istanbul and an increase in the number of its flights to Dnipro, where the carrier had been flying for 10 years. But the management of Dnipro’s airport then abruptly changed the Turkish Airlines’ schedule, and shortly after, both Dnipro and Ivano-Frankivsk airports refused to service the Turkish airline. Initially, the airports said the suspension would be imposed until Oct. 30, due to the poor condition of the airports’ runway surfaces, which the airports said prevents heavy aircraft from landing. But recently the ban was extended for the winter period, until the end of March.

“Servicing heavy aircraft such as those used by Turkish Airlines requires the repair of the runway surface,” Marina Viktorova, the commercial director of Dnipropetrovsk International Airport, told the Kyiv Post. She said that since the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine, “our airport has also handled military aircraft, that’s why at the moment we can’t close the runway for repairs,” she said.

Initially, Turkish Airlines operated its flights to Dnipro’s airport using Airbus-319s, with seating capacity for 132 passengers, and Airbus-320s, with seating capacity for 150-159 passengers. After receiving notice from Ivano-Frankivsk airport about cracks on the runway surface, the company decided to switch to using a smaller aircraft (an Embraer-190, seating 98 passengers), but it was still refused landing permission.

Yet despite the claims of runway problems, the two airports still accept large aircraft operated by domestic carriers – Boeing-737s with seating for 162-184 passengers, and Airbus-320s with seats for 150-159 passengers.

Viktorova said that Ukrainian airlines use Dnipro’s airport as a base for maintenance purposes.

“In order to fly (from Dnipro) they have to adjust their take-off weight and decrease the number of flights. They are unable to relocate to another Ukrainian airport, whereas Turkish Airlines can fly to any other airport, especially now there are additional flights,” Viktorova said.
Ivano-Frankivsk airport officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Fear of competition?

An inquiry conducted by the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine this summer found there were no technical reasons for the suspension of the Turkish Airlines flights. Unethical business practices might be the real reason behind the confrontation, although neither Ukrainian officials nor the Turkish side want to name names.

“I think there was a misreading, a bad business judgment on the part of some in Ukraine who might have looked at Turkish Airlines as a threat to their business,” said Yönet Can Tezel, Turkey’s ambassador to Ukraine.

Dnipro’s airport is controlled by Dniproavia, a subsidiary company of Galtera Ltd., while Ivano-Frankivsk airport is operated by Skorzonera LLC. All three companies belong to billionaire oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky.

At the moment, the only foreign carriers allowed to fly to the two airports controlled by Kolomoisky-owned companies are Russia’s UT Air and Austrian Airlines. The three Ukrainian airlines that fly from the airports are all affiliated with Kolomoisky – Ukraine International Airlines, Dniproavia, and Wind Rose Airlines.

Turkey’s response

In response to the alleged unfair practices against its national carrier, Turkey’s Civil Aviation General Directorate withdrew permission from Dniproavia to land in Istanbul. Previously, Dniproavia operated one flight on the Dnipro-Istanbul route per day using a 50-seat Embraer-145.
Turkey’s Civil Aviation General Directorate didn’t respond to the Kyiv Post’s request for comment. But Dincer Sayici, Turkish Airlines’ general manager in Ukraine, confirmed the ban had been imposed, although he said he was optimistic the problem can be resolved.

So is the Turkish ambassador.

“Given the realities of oligarchic structures in Ukraine, the resolution of this issue might be an example of how different interests can be reconciled in a legitimate way, in a win-win scenario,” Ambassador Tezel said.

“I hope Ukrainian companies will see Turkish Airlines as a partner, not a competitor.”