After 15 years of managing the company, Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) president Yuri Miroshnikov is to step down after the expiration of his contract. He should be replaced by Yevhenii Dykhne.
From September 12, 2019, Yuri Miroshnikov will retain a position as a board member of the airline. Yevhenii Dykhne should take office a week later, on September 18, 2019.
“My entire career is dedicated to aviation and UIA,” said Miroshnikov in a statement, adding “as a non-executive, I am committed to investing my expertise and experience to add value to the airline’s business and help the executive team to develop the long-term strategy and find solutions to tough managerial challenges.”
Miroshnikov started working for UIA in 1993 and managed the airline for the last 15 years. According to UIA, his leadership transformed what was a local hybrid airline with eight aircraft, 870 employees, and 640 thousand passengers into Ukraine’s flag carrier with 42 medium and long-haul aircraft, route network of over 50 destinations, nearly 3 thousand employees, and 8 million passengers carried yearly.
Yevhenii Dykhne, previously First Deputy CEO of Boryspil International Airport State Enterprise, will be tasked with bringing the company back to profit and giving its network a “sustainable development”. For the past two years, UIA has been at a loss. In 2018, it reported a net loss of about $100 million, against $12 million the previous year.