Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a working trip to Kherson region has inspected the reconstruction progress at the Kherson International Airport.

"The head of state was informed that an investment project had begun in 2019 to ensure aircraft landing in the evening and at night, as well as in difficult weather conditions. The project has received over UAH 46 million from the State Regional Development Fund and more than UAH 5 million of regional development funding. The project's implementation has already been funded by more than UAH 11 million. The opening of the airport's updated lighting system is scheduled for September this year," the presidential press service said on Friday.

In addition, the regional airport development program for 2018-2020 is currently being implemented. Routine runway repairs have been carried out, workers have been trained to launch the Kherson-Krakow flight, and additional equipment has been acquired to improve the quality of passenger service. The Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise also decided to update landing systems at the airport in 2020.

"All this will allow the airport to get the first category of aircraft landing according to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards," the report says.

Head of Kherson Regional State Administration Yuriy Husiev stressed that the airport is strategic.

"In the south, this is one of the very important hubs, and I would like it to become a hub for flights from Mykolaiv, Kherson regions. Even from Zaporizhia they come to us because Ryanair launched very popular flights," he said.

At the same time, the question remains of reconstructing the runway, updating the fleet of aircraft.

Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Krykliy said the total cost of the full restoration of the runway is UAH 1.2-1.5 billion, and UAH 910 has been spent on it this year. He added with the president's support the amount of funding may be increased this year.