How Moldova Pressured Airport De-Communisation and Why Ukraine Should Do It The Same Right Now
It's no secret that the Ukrainian government is looking for opportunities to restore regular air connections.
Are these plans realistic? There is currently no answer to this question.
But if Kyiv does indeed believe in restoring air connections partially, it should take steps for the derussification and de-communisation of aviation infrastructure as soon as possible.
Interestingly, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) previously assured that tying airports to Soviet/Russian names was permanent. Moldova, however, has shown that in the new reality, when the world is distancing itself from Russia, the "impossible" can sometimes become a reality.
Read more about the chance of derussification of Ukraine's aviation infrastructure in the article by Sergiy Sydorenko, EuroPravda editor: Airport 'Russophobia': Why Ukraine Should Replicate Moldova's Experience Right Now.
Moldova has traditionally lagged behind Ukraine in almost all matters related to the rejection of Soviet symbols.
But after 2022, they have sometimes been ahead of Ukraine in eradicating Soviet and Russian markers.
In particular, in aviation.
Like the entire Western world, Moldova has suspended flights to Russia since February 2022, even those operated by national carriers. The Moldovan government later nationalised the airport in Chisinau, which was under the concession of Russian owners.
The process was finalised at the end of 2023.
The Minister of Infrastructure of Moldova, Andrei Spinu, unexpectedly announced that the country's only international airport, located in Chisinau, is changing its IATA international code used for ticket booking, display on other airports' boards, printing on baggage tags, and so on.
Currently, in the IATA registry, Chisinau Airport is listed under the code KIV.
This code has existed since Soviet times and is an abbreviation of the Russian word "Кишинёв" (or KIshineV, if transcribed into Latin letters by ear). However, since 1989, when Moldova returned to the Romanian language, the name of its capital has been written as Chișinău (no similar to the code KIV).
Starting from 18 January 2024, Chisinau International Airport will have the code RMO, an abbreviation for Republic of Moldova. "The old abbreviation KIV will no longer appear on flight boards," said Moldova's Minister of Infrastructure Andrei Spinu.
It is worth noting that such "airport derussification" by Moldova is a very rare phenomenon. European Pravda is aware of only one recent precedent for renaming an airport. This is about Nursultan Airport, which was renamed from TSE, the Soviet name Tselinograd, to NQZ.
Ukraine has not matured for such a step yet, although it should have been done a long time ago. There are many "markers of the Russian presence" in the codes of Ukrainian airports.
But changing the code is not that simple. IATA is an organisation created by airlines, not states. The principle of "being beyond politics" even where politics undermines international law is indeed one of the key principles for international aviation organisations.
The former ambassador of Ukraine to Canada, where the IATA headquarters is located, emphasises that such organisations are very conservative and resist changes.
Once Kyiv applied for an airport code change but received an official refusal. However, Moldova succeeded. "This work took us about a year," said Moldova's Minister of Infrastructure Andrei Spinu to European Pravda.
There is no reason to doubt that Ukraine can follow Moldova's path. And action should be taken quickly to use the political moment and refer to the Moldovan precedent in dialogue with IATA.
Secondly, it is worth rushing to complete the procedure before at least partial air connections are restored in Ukrainian airports.
There is also negative experience. Because the government in Chisinau did not inform society about this initiative at all and communicated its details relatively weakly, the change in Moldova was perceived ambiguously.