The resumption of regular flights at Lviv airport is currently complicated primarily by the issue of flight insurance. According to experts, the insurance coverage for a single aircraft can cost up to 31 billion hryvnias, making the process economically unfeasible.
This is reported by Finway
Why Insurance Has Become a Critical Issue
Former Acting Minister of Transport and Communications of Ukraine from 2009 to 2010, Vasyl Shevchenko, explained that even before the onset of full-scale hostilities, airlines in Ukraine were offered short-term insurance: prior to the invasion, the insurance term was only one day, and a little earlier — two days.
“Until the moment of the invasion, we were effectively insuring aircraft registered in Ukraine for two days. And the day before — the insurance was for one day,” noted Shevchenko.
According to him, a similar practice exists in the maritime transport sector; however, the situation there is somewhat simplified due to government guarantees and cooperation with non-profit insurance companies. In aviation, implementing such a model is significantly more challenging.
Obstacles to the Resumption of Flights
Shevchenko emphasized that recently there has been discussion about the possibility of partially restoring air connections with Lviv. In such a case, the time an aircraft could spend in Ukrainian airspace might only be 5–10 minutes. However, a final decision has yet to be reached, as there is no mechanism for covering insurance payouts in case of emergencies. Passenger flights, unlike cargo flights, do not provide stable profits, which deters potential insurers.
Military experts have also been involved in the discussions. As of now, no progress has been made, as the risk of “ballistic missile penetration” is too high and cannot be completely ruled out.