DonetskSergei Prokofiev International Airport is a nonoperational airport located northwest of Donetsk, Ukraine, that was destroyed in 2014 during the War in Donbass. It was built in the 1940s and 1950s and rebuilt in 1973 and again from 2011 to 2012. The airport is named after 20th-century composer Sergei Prokofiev, who was a native of Donetsk Oblast.
On 26 May 2014, separatists from the Donetsk People's Republic with technical assistance from Russian mercenaries seized the airport soon after Petro Poroshenko won the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election. In response, Ukrainian forces launched air attacks to regain control of it from the belligerents. Two civilians and 38 combatants were reported dead, and the Ukrainian military regained control of the airport. Service at the airport has not resumed since the battle. On 1 October 2014, the belligerents attempted to retake the airport. A spokesman for what the Ukrainian government calls its anti-terrorist operation said Ukrainian forces repelled four attacks on the airport that evening. A T-64 tank was destroyed and seven rebels were killed, Vladyslav Seleznyov told Kanal 5 TV. A reporter for Associated Press in Donetsk said on October 1 that there were indications that the government had lost control of the airport. DNR leader Alexander Zakharchenko said it was "95%" under separatist control. Ukrainian officials insisted the airport was still under government control as of October 2014. Zakharchenko claimed that the rebels had taken complete control of the airport on 17 January 2015, after a series of battles with pro-government forces over the complex. One day later, it was reported that government forces claimed to have retaken almost all parts of the airport lost to the belligerents in recent weeks, after a mass operation during the night. On 21 January, Ukrainian forces admitted losing control of the airport to the Donetsk People's Republic rebels. Over the course of battles for the airport, the airport complex suffered extensive damage from constant bombardments and change of hand between pro-government and proxy forces. The main terminal buildings, with their sturdy concrete construction, served as garrisons and shelters for soldiers defending the airport grounds, and as a result the buildings would be subjected to attacks and suffer extensive structural failures, most notably with the collapse of the massive roof over the new terminal building's mezzanine. Similarly, the control tower was contested by opposing forces due to its strategic lookout point, but eventually collapsed in January 2015 during the final leg of the Second Battle of Donetsk Airport. Since the fighting, the ruins of the airport have been cleared of rubble, leaving behind the concrete shells of the new terminal building and adjoining parking garage.
Airlines and destinations
All civilian airline operations including Lufthansa, LOT Polish Airlines, Air Berlin, Aeroflot and flydubai were suspended due to armed conflict in May 2014, and the airport's facilities were subsequently completely destroyed.
Statistics
Year
Passengers
Change on previous year
2009
488,100
2010
612,200
25.4%
2011
829,300
35.5%
2012
1,000,000
20.6%
2013
1,110,400
11.0%
2014
346,700
68.8%
2015
100.0%
2016
Accidents and incidents
On 3 November 1996, a group of contract killers dressed in security forces fatigues opened indiscriminate fire at the plane of prominent local businessman Yevhen Shcherban as he disembarked on the apron after a flight from Moscow. Shcherban and his wife were killed, together with an airport ground technician and the plane's flight engineer.
