Kherson’s Airport: Crimeans’ Ticket to the EU?

Kherson’s Airport: Crimeans’ Ticket to the EU? Infrastructure Minister Vladimir Omelyan and Kherson region officials are talking to Ryanair about starting EU-bound flights next year from Kherson, Ukraine’s closest airport to Russia-controlled Crimea. Omelyan argues that the addition of Crimea’s 2.3 million people would triple Kherson’s current passenger base — the 1 million residents of Kherson region. Since 2014, Crimea’s main airport, Simferopol, only offers flights to Russian cities. The nearest Russian airport, Anapa, a five-hour drive east over the new Kerch bridge, also only offers flights to Russian cities. But, by driving four hours north to Kherson, Crimea residents could board flights to the EU, Omelyan argues. For Crimean travelers, a major concern would be the vagaries of delays at the Russia-Ukraine control points.