On the 27th of January at the International Airport "Kharkiv" the first regional specialized conference "We fly from Kharkiv" has been held. The participants were the representatives of the international airlines, Kharkiv City Council, Kharkiv Regional State Administration, the top managers of the leading travel agencies in Ukraine, as well as the leaders of the transport infrastructure enterprises of the city. In general, the conference brought together to discuss the current problems of the sector about 30 companies including: "Anex Tour", "Natalie Tours", "Gamaliya", "Tourtes", "Lot-tour", "Center for International Transportation and Tourism", "KiyAvia", "MAU", "Tez Tour of Ukraine", the Universal agency for the sale of air transportation, "Mouzenidis travel», TUI, UIA, etc.
During the event the representatives of the International Airport "Kharkiv" familiarized the participants with the program of the preparation of Slobozhanshchina air gates for the Euro 2012 matches and told about the future plans for the development of the airport. Pavel Prusak, the commercial manager of the International Airport "Kharkiv", told the participants of the conference that only in 2011 seven new destinations were opened and direct flights between Kharkiv and such cities as Batumi, Dubai, Yerevan, Sharjah etc were provided. According to his words, in 2012 it is planned to open the flights "Kharkiv-Thessaloniki» (Astra Airlines), «Kharkiv-Tel Aviv" (UIA), "Kharkiv-Tbilisi» (Georgian Airways), «Kharkiv-Tyumen" and "Kharkiv- Sochi "(both - "Yamal"), as well as two new flights to Moscow - Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo ("Aeroflot" and "Transaero” respectively). The possibilities of the internal services will be increased by opening of the direct flights to Simferopol (Crimean Dawns) and Airport Kiev-Juliani (UTair). Beside this, the negotiations with the major European carriers are continuing today. Probably the air program of the International Airport "Kharkiv" for the holiday season will be enlarged by the flights to the main resorts of the Old World.
Elena Karpenko, the deputy of the General Manager of Swissport Ukraine has also confirmed the interest of the international airlines in cooperation with the Kharkiv airport. The Swiss company, one of the world's leaders of the ground handling services, has focused on three ports in Ukraine: "Boryspil", "Juliani" and the International Airport "Kharkiv". Anna Korennaya, the deputy director of “Natalie Tours Ukraine" has shared her experience of the cooperation with the air gates of Slobozhanshchina. Rodion Bronnikov, the General Manager the of a tour operator "Bronn Tour" was talking about the prospects of the collaboration in his report. In 2011 his company became a customer of a regular charter flight "Kharkiv-Tel Aviv-Kharkiv". According to his words the impulse for establishing a direct communication between two cities was an increased demand caused, in its turn, by the cancellation of the visa system between Ukraine and Israel. A fast reaction on this situation of the tour operator, the carrier and the leaders of the International Airport "Kharkiv" allowed to arrange a regular flight and to ensure its workload in time. A successful experience gives the participants of the process an opportunity to plan the flights on the route that the Kharkiv residents liked in a new season.
The experience of cooperation between the International Airport "Kharkiv" and the "Bronn Tour" inspired other tour operators to work together on solving the arising logistical problems. In particular, Irina Khodyreva, the director of "Harkovkurort-service", told about the summer program of her agency and noted the necessity to expand the air service to the resort area of Georgia and Montenegro. Tatyana Pashko, the director of the "Komod-tour" in her report focused attention on the prospects of the direct flights to Bulgaria, etc.
Summing up the conference "We fly from Kharkiv" the General Manager of the International Airport "Kharkiv", Vladimir Vasilchenko, emphasized the importance of such events. "All of us are doing the same business – we provide a comfortable transportation around the world to our compatriots. Of course, this requires the coordination. We, as an airport, cannot react to the trends in tourism as quickly and efficiently as the tour operators. They, in their turn, are limited in the questions of the organization of the regular flights. Joining our efforts we become stronger. The travel agencies tell us about their needs, the expectations for the current season, and we, in our turn, focus on their information while creating the development plans. Such cooperation is profitable for us, for the operators, for the carriers. But the most importantly - it is beneficial for our passengers", - Vladimir Vasilchenko summed up the conference.
