Lviv crash aftermath: Ukraine Air Alliance loses its licences
A look back at the October 2019 regulatory response to the An-12 crash near Lviv, and Ukraine's slip in a global competitiveness ranking.
What did Ukraine's authorities do after an Antonov An-12 ran out of fuel and crashed near Lviv? By 11 October 2019, a week on, the answer was clear: the airline that owned the aircraft, Ukraine Air Alliance, had lost its authorisations at home and in the European Union.
The crash happened on 4 October 2019. The next day, 5 October, the European Aviation Safety Agency revoked its authorisation of the carrier, effectively banning it from all European Union airspace. On 7 October, the Ukrainian Ministry of Transport announced that it had revoked the airline's air operator's certificate, effective from 5 October. The decision was taken the same day it was announced.
The two decisions, one by the EU's aviation safety regulator and one by Kyiv's transport ministry, both cited the Lviv crash as the cause.
A weaker showing in the rankings
The period also brought a broader assessment of the country's standing. On 9 October 2019, the World Economic Forum's 2019 competitiveness ranking placed Ukraine 85th among 141 countries. That was two places lower than in 2018.
Taken together, the reports from the days around 11 October 2019 showed regulators acting quickly against a carrier after a serious accident, while an international index recorded a modest fall for the country's competitiveness.
