I flew to and from Donetsk in spring 2011. My Russian was limited to a few essential words and what I can get from a phrase book without searching the pages for ten minutes. The staff were the usual stereotypical Ukrainian personalities; they were very helpful and matter of fact. Smiles were offered only if they thought you deserved it; which can be refreshing in an increasingly shallow world. I met with an American on the outward journey who had even less Russian than me and the staff were able to help her well enough. The airport is small with only two gates. Check-in is also part of the gates. Queuing for checking in is not the same as a westerner’s usual experience, there is no yellow line to stand behind so you need to make sure it is obvious that you are in the queue without actually sitting in the next persons back pocket. The security gate for departures is not obvious; it is a small doorway in what looks like a temporary wall on the right of the lobby. There are plenty of locals milling around looking like they are doing nothing; taxi drivers looking for fares. Most are just normal people but keep valuables safe as you would in any large city in the US or Europe. Once through to the departure lounge there is plenty of seating, there is a small café stand. The coffee was reasonable, I got a double shot espresso but the food is mediocre. Expectations should be adjusted for a small local airport in the Ukraine. With that in mind the meal exceeded expectation.

The whole airport is corrupt!