Hostomel Airport

Antonov Airport (IATA: GML, ICAO: UKKM) (Ukrainian: аеропорт «Антонов» [ɐeroˈpɔrt ɐnˈtɔnou̯]), also known as Hostomel (or Gostomel) Airport (Ukrainian: аеропорт «Гостомель»), is an international cargo airport and testing facility in Ukraine, located near Hostomel, which is a northwestern suburb of Kyiv.[lower-alpha 1]

Antonov Airport

Аеропорт «Антонов»
Ukraine Air Force Sukhoi Su-27 at the airport
Summary
Airport typeCivil government
OperatorAntonov Airlines
ServesKyiv
LocationHostomel, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine
Elevation AMSL517 ft / 158 m
Coordinates50°36′13″N 30°11′31″E
Map
GML is located in Ukraine
GML
GML
Location of the airport in Ukraine
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
15/33 11,483 3,500 Concrete

The airport is owned by and named after the Antonov aircraft manufacturing company and operated by its subsidiary Antonov Airlines. The destroyed An-225 was based here.

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the airport became the site of an intense battle. It was temporarily held by Russian forces and sustained heavy damage to facilities and aircraft.

History

Construction of the airport began in 1959. Commercial cargo operations at the airport began in 1989 with the first attempts at demilitarizing and commercializing of the Antonov Design Bureau.

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Main article: Battle of Antonov Airport

On 24 February 2022, the first day of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the airport was attacked and seized by the Russian military. On the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said "The enemy paratroopers in Hostomel have been blocked, and troops have received an order to destroy them".[1] Later in the day, between 8-10 PM local time (UTC+2) reports surfaced that the airport had been retaken, but heavy fighting continued for weeks at the airport and in neighboring Hostomel. Ukrainian forces regained control of the airport by 2 April, but the airport sustained extensive damage and the notable An-225 cargo aircraft was destroyed.[2][3]

The Virgin Galactic owner, Sir Richard Branson, visited the President of Ukraine and the damaged airport and had interest in investing in rebuilding it.[4][5]

Aircraft testing operations

Gostomel Airport was originally built as a top-secret in-house Flight Testing and Improvement Base (Ukrainian: Льотно-випробувальна і довідна база) for Antonov airplanes. It is equipped with special equipment for it (e.g., artificial lightning generator) and granted a purpose test flight zone. Its sister facility, responsible for manufacturing, is located inside Kyiv at the Sviatoshyn Airfield.

Cargo operations
Antonov Airlines Antonov An-225 landing at Hostomel (2014)

The airport is used by Antonov Airlines, as well as by other interested cargo carriers. The following facilities and services are available on site:

Military presence

Ukrainian Air Force was using the airport for its transportation forces.

The An 225 was destroyed in the Ukraine-Russian war.

The An-225 "Mriya" (tr. 'dream' or 'inspiration'), the world's largest cargo aircraft, was located at Hostomel Airport and it was partially destroyed during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. A number of other aircraft were also destroyed.[6]

See also

Notes
  1. Boryspil and Zhulyany are the other two airports that serve Kyiv
  2. Via the Bucha railroad station of the Ukrainian Railways.

References
  1. Shull, Abbie. "Ukrainian and Russian forces have been fighting for hours over a critical airfield just outside Kyiv". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  2. "Amongst wreckage in Ukraine's Hostomel Airport". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  3. "Antonow An-225: Neue Bilder der Verwüstung am Flughafen Kiew-Hostomel". stern.de (in German). Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  4. "Amongst wreckage in Ukraine's Hostomel Airport". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  5. "Sir Richard Branson could help rebuild wrecked Ukrainian airport". Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  6. "World's largest plane destroyed in Ukraine". www.cnn.com. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
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