Izmail International Airport

The primary reason for the closure was economic. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, passenger demand plummeted, making the airport financially unviable. The infrastructure, including the runway, terminal, and navigation equipment, fell into a state of severe disrepair due to a lack of funding for maintenance and modernization. The short-lived revival attempt in the late 2000s failed for the same reasons: low passenger traffic and an inability to operate profitably.

The airport is completely abandoned and non-operational. The site is in a state of extreme decay. The terminal building is derelict, with broken windows and crumbling interiors. The single runway is cracked, overgrown with grass and weeds, and unsuitable for any aircraft operations. The aprons and taxiways are similarly deteriorated. The site is not used for any official purpose and is effectively a brownfield site.

Established in the post-WWII era and significantly developed from the 1960s to the 1980s, Izmail Airport (former ICAO: UKOI) was a vital regional transportation hub for the Budjak region of southern Ukraine (Ukrainian SSR). It provided crucial air links for passengers and cargo, connecting Izmail with major cities such as Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Chișinău, and Moscow. The airport primarily handled smaller Soviet-era aircraft like the Antonov An-24, Yakovlev Yak-40, and Antonov An-2. In addition to scheduled passenger flights, it was a base for agricultural aviation (crop dusting) and air ambulance services, making it essential to the region's economy and public services.

Prior to the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion, there were recurring discussions and proposals by local and regional authorities (Odesa Oblast Administration) to reconstruct and reopen the airport. The goal was to boost tourism to the Danube Delta and improve business logistics for the region. However, these plans never materialized due to the prohibitive cost of rebuilding the entire infrastructure, estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars. Since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, any and all plans for reopening have been indefinitely suspended. The region, particularly the nearby Danube port infrastructure in Izmail, has been a target of military attacks, making security the sole priority. Any prospect of reopening is now a distant, post-war consideration, contingent on Ukraine's victory, national reconstruction priorities, and securing massive international investment.