Pavlo BARALEI

Aerodromes include small general aviation airfields, large commercial airports, and military air bases.

The term airport may imply a certain stature (having satisfied certain certification criteria or regulatory requirements) that not all aerodromes may have achieved. That means that all airports are aerodromes, but not all aerodromes are airports. Usage of the term "aerodrome" remains more common in Ireland and Commonwealth nations, and is conversely almost unknown in American English, where the term "airport" is applied almost exclusively.

A water aerodrome is an area of open water used regularly by seaplanes, floatplanes or amphibious aircraft for landing and taking off.

In formal terminology, as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an aerodrome is "a defined area on land or water (including any buildings, installations, and equipment) intended to be used either wholly or in part for the arrival, departure, and surface movement of aircraft."

Airports often have facilities to park and maintain aircraft, and a control tower. An airport consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface such as a runway for a plane to take off and to land or a helipad, and often includes adjacent utility buildings such as control towers, hangars and terminals. Larger airports may have airport aprons, taxiway bridges, air traffic control centres, passenger facilities such as restaurants and lounges, and emergency services. In some countries, the US in particular, airports also typically have one or more fixed-base operators, serving general aviation.

Operating airports is extremely complicated, with a complex system of aircraft support services, passenger services, and aircraft control services contained within the operation. Thus airports can be major employers, as well as important hubs for tourism and other kinds of transit. Because they are sites of operation for heavy machinery, a number of regulations and safety measures have been implemented in airports, in order to reduce hazards. Additionally, airports have major local environmental impacts, as both large sources of air pollution, noise pollution and other environmental impacts, making them sites that acutely experience the environmental effects of aviation. Airports are also vulnerable infrastructure to extreme weather, climate change caused sea level rise and other disasters.

Boryspil International Airport has two operational passenger terminals (D) and (F), one cargo terminal, and a VIP terminal. The largely overcrowded former domestic Terminal A was closed on 15 September 2011, in favor of transferring all domestic operations to nearby Terminal B. In 2013, all domestic and international operations were transferred from Terminal B to Terminal D.

Boryspil International Airport handles most of Ukraine's international traffic. Terminal B, with only eleven gates, two of which were air bridges, was not enough to handle all international flights. This was the reason for the expansion of that terminal, which started in 2005. The first-stage expansion of Terminal B was opened on 27 January 2006. In 2008, passport control within Terminal B Departures was moved further east (along with the entrance to the main duty-free shop so that it remains airside).

There are plans to expand the airport further by building several new terminals. The government has been having meetings with the owners of nearby land, trying to buy more land for expansion. The construction of Terminal D was approved on 28 July 2008 and was completed in 2012 at a cost of UAH 1.661 billion (US$208 million). The terminal will have a capacity of 1,500 passengers per hour and cover an area of 44.9 hectares.[11] Platform M, which is connected to Terminal B and requires redevelopment, was to be reconstructed in 2009–2010. The reason for the delay in its reconstruction was the fact that Terminal B needs to be fully operational first. Now that Terminal D has opened (building began on 24 October 2008[12]), platform M can be reconstructed without having a major impact on traffic.

The construction of Terminal D was completed in 2012, with the terminal opening to passengers on 28 May 2012, increasing passenger handling facilities significantly. As of 24 June 2016, Terminal A, B, and F are out of operation. By 2020, if all plans proceed, the airport should have a capacity of 18 million passengers per year.

The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Міністерство інфраструктури України) functions as the main executive body that controls Ukraine's transportation infrastructure including roads, trains, and communications. The department is based on the former Transport and Communications Ministry and also oversees the implementation of government tourism policies.

The Ministry comprises a central body, led by the minister, his/her first deputy, and other deputies who assist the minister. The Ministry also consists of several state administrations that specialize in certain fields and coordinate operations of government companies.

The ministry supervises implementation of government policy in transport and communication sectors as well as security related to transport. Transport of fuel fossils (i.e. oil and gas) is related to the government ministry on energy and fuel, while most of security responsibility matters are supervised by Ministry of Interior or other state agencies.

The main tasks of the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine:

1. Implementation of state policy in the field of civil aviation and use of Ukrainian airspace.

2. Making proposals to the Minister of Infrastructure to ensure the formation of state policy in the field of civil aviation and the use of airspace of Ukraine.

3. Organization of the use of the airspace of Ukraine.

4. Implementation of state control and supervision over the safety of civil aviation, supervision over the provision of air navigation services.