“Israel is also at war, but flies”: Ukraine allows the return of civilian flights even before the end of the war

On September 30, 2026, Ukraine’s Minister for Reconstruction, Infrastructure, and Transport, Nikolai Kalashnik, stated in a blitz interview with ‘Telegraf’ that civilian flights in Ukraine could theoretically resume even before the end of hostilities. Preparations for this are already underway, although the minister has not yet named specific airports or dates.

Author: Elena Gunko

Kalashnik’s statement sounded noticeably tougher than previous cautious statements by Ukrainian authorities. He said that the task of opening the skies exists, various algorithms are already being calculated, and ‘the political decision is there.’ According to the minister, there is also an economic understanding of the need to return civil aviation, but the first condition remains passenger safety.

And here Kalashnik himself gave an example that is especially interesting to the Israeli reader: ‘There are warring countries, but flights take place there. For example, Israel’. According to him, Ukraine is studying international experience, cooperating with ICAO, preparing safe spaces, shelters, backup power supplies, and emergency action scenarios.

The comparison with Israel is only half correct. Israel indeed shows that war itself does not automatically mean the cessation of civil aviation. But transferring the Israeli model to Lviv or Boryspil with a single administrative decision is impossible.

NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency has already detailed why Israel can maintain air communication during war, while Ukrainian skies remain closed. Here, the issue is not only the condition of the runway or terminal. An acceptable level of military risk, a functioning protected air corridor, the consent of carriers, insurers, and aircraft owners are needed.

And this is where the main obstacle currently lies. The current EASA bulletin on Ukraine considers its airspace an active conflict zone with high risk for civil aviation at all altitudes and recommends not flying there, including takeoffs and landings. The current version of the warning is in effect until January 31, 2027, unless reviewed earlier.

However, there is another important detail. In July, the Cabinet talked about the systematic preparation of aviation for recovery after the end of the war and specifically emphasized that it was not about the imminent opening of the skies. Now the minister publicly allows for another scenario — planes may return sooner.

This does not yet mean that you can buy a ticket from Lviv to Tel Aviv tomorrow. But the framework of the conversation itself has changed. Ukraine is already discussing not only the question of ‘how to restore aviation after the war,’ but also a much more complex one: can we learn to fly during the war — as Israel does.