View source for Hostomel Airport

{{Short description|Cargo airport in Kyiv, Ukraine}}
{{Infobox airport
| name                = Antonov Airport
| nativename          = 
| nativename-a        = Аеропорт «Антонов»
| nativename-r        = 
| image               = gostomel-airport.jpg
| image-width         = 275 px
| caption             = 
| image2              = Сухой Су-27-30-32-34-35-37 , Киев - Антонов (Гостомель) RP3226.jpg
| image2-width        = 275 px
| caption2            = [[Ukraine Air Force]] [[Sukhoi Su-27]] at the airport
| IATA                = GML
| ICAO                = UKKM
| type                = Civil government
| owner               = 
| operator            = [[Antonov Airlines]]
| city-served         = [[Kyiv]]
| location            = [[Hostomel]], [[Kyiv Oblast]], Ukraine
| elevation-f         = 517
| elevation-m         = 158
| coordinates         = {{coord|50|36|13|N|30|11|31|E|region:UA-32|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_map         = Ukraine
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of the airport in Ukraine
| pushpin_label       = GML
| pushpin_label_position = top
| website             = 
| metric-elev         = 
| metric-rwy          = 
| r1-number           = 15/33
| r1-length-f         = 11,483
| r1-length-m         = 3,500
| r1-surface          = Concrete
| stat-year           = 
| stat1-header        = 
| stat1-data          = 
| stat2-header        = 
| stat2-data          = 
| footnotes           = 
| pushpin_relief      = y
| module              = {{Infobox mapframe |wikidata=yes |zoom=12|frame-height=260 | stroke-width=1 |coord={{WikidataCoord|display=i}}}}
}}
'''Antonov Airport''' {{airport codes|GML|UKKM}} ({{langx|uk|аеропорт «Антонов»}} {{IPA|uk|ɐeroˈpɔrt ɐnˈtɔnou̯|}}), also known as '''Hostomel''' (or '''Gostomel''') '''Airport''' ({{langx|uk|аеропорт «Гостомель»}}), is an international [[Cargo aircraft|cargo]] [[airport]] and testing facility in [[Ukraine]], located near [[Hostomel]], which is a northwestern suburb of [[Kyiv]].{{efn|[[Boryspil International Airport|Boryspil]] and [[Kyiv Zhuliany International Airport|Zhuliany]] are the other two airports that serve Kyiv}}

The airport is owned by and named after the [[Antonov|Antonov aircraft manufacturing company]] and operated by its subsidiary [[Antonov Airlines]]. The destroyed [[Antonov An-225|An-225]] was based here. 

At the beginning of the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the airport became the site of [[Battle of Antonov Airport|a battle]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Shane |last2=DeYoung |first2=Karen |last3=Khurshudyan |first3=Isabelle |last4=Parker |first4=Ashley |last5=Sly |first5=Liz |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/interactive/2022/ukraine-road-to-war/ |title=Road to war: U.S. struggled to convince allies, and Zelensky, of risk of invasion |work=Washington Post |date=16 August 2022 |access-date=10 October 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240712202843/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/interactive/2022/ukraine-road-to-war/ |archive-date=12 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Horton |first=Alex |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/14/leaked-documents-russian-spetsnaz/ |title=Russia’s commando units gutted by Ukraine war, U.S. leak shows. THE DISCORD LEAKS: Russia’s clandestine spetsnaz forces have been put to use alongside the infantry, suffering massive numbers of dead and wounded |work=Washington Post |date=14 April 2023 |access-date=10 October 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240911114530/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/14/leaked-documents-russian-spetsnaz/ |archive-date=11 September 2024}}</ref> It was temporarily held by Russian forces and sustained heavy damage to facilities and aircraft.

==History==
Construction of the airport began in 1959. Commercial cargo operations at the airport began in 1989 with the first attempts at demilitarizing and commercializing of the [[Antonov Design Bureau]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}

===2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine===
{{main|Battle of Antonov Airport}}
On 24 February 2022, the first day of the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the airport was [[Battle of Antonov Airport|attacked and seized by the Russian military]]. On the day, Ukrainian President [[Volodymyr Zelenskyy]] said "The enemy paratroopers in Hostomel have been blocked, and troops have received an order to destroy them".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Shull|first=Abbie|title=Ukrainian and Russian forces have been fighting for hours over a critical airfield just outside Kyiv|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-russia-fight-over-airfield-outside-kyiv-2022-2|access-date=2022-02-24|website=Business Insider|language=en-US}}</ref> Later in the day, between 8-10 PM local time (UTC+2) reports surfaced that the airport had been retaken, but heavy fighting continued for weeks at the airport and in neighboring Hostomel.  Ukrainian forces regained control of the airport by 2 April, but the airport sustained extensive damage and the notable An-225 cargo aircraft was destroyed.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Amongst wreckage in Ukraine's Hostomel Airport|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-60968543|access-date=2022-04-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Antonow An-225: Neue Bilder der Verwüstung am Flughafen Kiew-Hostomel|url=https://www.stern.de/reise/follow-me/antonow-an-225--neue-bilder-der-verwuestung-am-flughafen-kiew-hostomel--31842684.html|access-date=2022-05-09|website=stern.de|date=9 May 2022 |language=de}}</ref>

The [[Virgin Galactic]] owner, Sir [[Richard Branson]], visited the President of Ukraine and the damaged airport and had interest in investing in rebuilding it.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Amongst wreckage in Ukraine's Hostomel Airport|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-60968543|access-date=2022-04-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Sir Richard Branson could help rebuild wrecked Ukrainian airport| newspaper=The Telegraph | date=29 June 2022 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/06/29/sir-richard-branson-could-help-rebuild-wrecked-ukrainian-airport/|access-date=2022-06-30 | last1=Vasilyeva | first1=Nataliya }}</ref>

==Aircraft testing operations==
Hostomel Airport was originally built as a top-secret in-house '''Flight Testing and Improvement Base''' ({{langx|uk|Льотно-випробувальна і довідна база}}) for Antonov airplanes. It is equipped with special equipment for it (e.g., artificial [[lightning]] generator) and granted a purpose test [[Special use airspace|flight zone]]. Its sister facility, responsible for manufacturing, is located inside Kyiv at the [[Sviatoshyn Airfield]].

==Cargo operations==
[[File:Antonov An-225 landing at Gostomel Airport.jpeg|thumb|280px|[[Antonov Airlines]] [[Antonov An-225]] landing at Hostomel (2014)]]
The airport is used by Antonov Airlines, as well as by other interested cargo carriers. The following facilities and services are available on site:
*[[transshipping]] (air-to-auto; air-to-railway{{efn|Via the [[Bucha, Ukraine|Bucha]] railroad station of the [[Ukrzaliznytsia|Ukrainian Railways]].}})
*storage capacities
*[[border control]] and [[customs]]
*aircraft maintenance

==Military presence==
[[Ukrainian Air Force]] was using the airport for its transportation forces.
[[File:50 днів активного спротиву окупанту 02.jpg|thumb| The An 225 was destroyed in the Ukraine-Russian war.]]
The [[Antonov An-225 Mriya|An-225 "Mriya"]] (''tr. 'dream' or 'inspiration'''), the world's [[largest aircraft|largest cargo aircraft]], was located at Hostomel Airport and it was partially destroyed during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. A number of other aircraft were also destroyed.<ref name="cnn.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/antonov-an-225-largest-plane-destroyed-ukraine-scli-intl/index.html|title=World's largest plane destroyed in Ukraine|website=www.cnn.com|date=28 February 2022|access-date=10 March 2022}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of airports in Ukraine]]
* [[List of the busiest airports in Ukraine]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Hostomel Airport}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130915030026/http://www.antonov.com/services/antonov-airport?lang=en Antonov Airport] at Antonov ASTC corporate Web site
*NOAA/NWS [http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/current/UKKM.html Weather observations for the Antonov Airport]
*ASN [http://aviation-safety.net/database/airport/airport.php?id=gml Accident history for the Antonov Airport]
{{Transport in Kyiv}}
{{Airports in Ukraine}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Airports in Kyiv]]
[[Category:Antonov]]
[[Category:Airports established in 1959]]
[[Category:1959 establishments in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Kyiv Oblast]]
[[Category:Bucha Raion]]
[[Category:Hostomel]]