The Business Case for Liverpool-Chisinau Flights
By Dina Railean, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Moldova in Manchester, UK
A direct flight is never only about aviation.
It can connect families, businesses, universities and investors.
More importantly, it can change how two markets see each other.
On 31 July 2026, I met online with Anna Shires, Aviation Development Manager at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, and Paul Kallee-Grover MBE, Managing Director of Ki Partnerships Ltd and a Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Export Champion.
We discussed possible cooperation between Liverpool John Lennon Airport and the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Moldova in Manchester.
Our central question was practical.
Could the Liverpool-Chisinau route return and once again provide Northern England with direct access to Moldova?
A route with proven strategic value
Liverpool welcomed its first direct connection to Chisinau in October 2020.
The service also represented the first direct air link between Northern England and Moldova.
I helped develop the business and community case for that original route.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport asked me to provide a formal letter of support in my roles at that time as a Moldovan businesswoman in the North West, Salford President of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the Moldovan Diaspora organisation.
My involvement also included discussions and negotiations with relevant stakeholders.
In May 2025, I wrote a further letter supporting Liverpool Airport and the case for direct connectivity with Chisinau.
That history matters.
It demonstrates sustained regional interest rather than a new idea created for a single meeting.
The earlier Liverpool service and the Manchester-Chisinau route launched in 2024 also provided qualitative evidence of demand among diaspora members, families, tourists and business travellers.
Both routes remain suspended.
However, their suspension does not erase the need they served.
Exploring a responsible route to reinstatement
During our July meeting, we considered which types of airline might best serve the Liverpool-Chisinau market.
Potential operators were discussed, but no airline commitment or route agreement currently exists.
Any reinstatement would require:
- A credible passenger-demand case
- A commercially sustainable operating model
- A suitable airline and aircraft
- Effective promotion in both markets
- Support from business and community stakeholders
- Evidence of repeat demand across the year
- Coordination with tourism, trade and education partners
Therefore, the next stage must focus on evidence and long-term viability.
Liverpool Airport cannot create a route alone.
An airline must assess costs, capacity, scheduling, competition and expected revenue. Meanwhile, regional organisations can help demonstrate the wider value of the connection.
We agreed to keep the conversation open and update each other when relevant developments arise.
Air connectivity is economic infrastructure
Businesses enter new markets more easily when people can travel directly.
A non-stop route reduces journey time, removes connecting-airport risk and makes short commercial visits more practical.
That matters for:
- Exporters meeting prospective buyers
- Investors examining sites and projects
- Lawyers and accountants advising clients
- Insurers assessing regional risks
- Universities developing partnerships
- Tourism operators building new packages
- Diaspora entrepreneurs connecting both markets
- Public bodies supporting bilateral initiatives
Direct travel also changes perception.
A destination with a non-stop flight can feel closer, more accessible and commercially more serious.
Consequently, air connectivity can support trade before the first contract is signed.
Why Liverpool can become a northern gateway
Liverpool John Lennon Airport serves a large catchment across North West England and neighbouring regions.
A future Liverpool-Chisinau route could provide the North with its only direct air connection to Moldova.
Such a service could support Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester and businesses across the wider northern economy.
Legal, insurance and financial firms could travel more efficiently when supporting cross-border transactions.
Technology companies could explore Moldova’s digital and outsourcing capabilities.
Infrastructure, property and energy businesses could inspect opportunities in person.
Furthermore, logistics companies could assess regional supply chains linking the UK, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine.
Freight and specialist logistics remain forward-looking possibilities only. No airline or airport has agreed to a cargo service.
Nevertheless, passenger routes can sometimes create limited capacity for time-sensitive, specialist or high-value goods. Any such case would require separate commercial assessment.
Opening Moldova to business and investment
Paul Kalee-Grover MBE and I also briefed Liverpool Airport about the First UK Business-Led Trade Mission to Moldova.
The delegation arrives on 27 September and will take part in Moldova Business Week from 28 September to 2 October 2026.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport cannot join this first mission. However, it remains open to considering participation in a future delegation.
That interest matters because route development benefits from direct market knowledge.
An airport or airline needs to understand more than passenger numbers.
It should also consider:
- Moldova’s investment direction
- Business demand between the two markets
- Tourism growth potential
- University and student travel
- Diaspora travel patterns
- Regional development
- Future commercial partnerships
Moldova Business Week is the country’s national platform for presenting itself as an investment destination and economic partner. Its 2026 programme focuses on European economic integration, investment attraction and export growth.
The mission will help British businesses test the opportunity directly.
Connectivity and Moldova’s European future
Moldova’s progress towards the European Union strengthens the case for closer links.
Formal EU accession negotiations opened in June 2024. During 2026, Moldova opened negotiations on the fundamentals cluster and the external-relations cluster, which includes trade and international policies.
Membership does not happen automatically.
Moldova must continue meeting demanding conditions and aligning its institutions, laws and standards.
Yet that process can create a more predictable environment for businesses, universities and investors.
As regulatory links grow, physical connectivity must keep pace.
Otherwise, companies may understand Moldova’s potential but struggle to visit, invest or build partnerships efficiently.
A practical connection for Ukrainians
A Liverpool-Chisinau service could also support Ukrainian nationals travelling to and from south-western Ukraine, where Chisinau may offer a practical regional gateway.
Chisinau will not serve every Ukrainian traveller, and onward journeys depend on border conditions, ground transport and individual destinations.
However, Moldova shares a long border with Ukraine and continues to develop its regional transport role.
For people travelling to communities in parts of south-western Ukraine, access through Chisinau may provide another useful option.
Such connectivity has a human dimension.
It can support family visits, essential journeys and links with communities affected by the war.
Preparing for Ukraine’s reconstruction
Air services can also contribute to longer-term regional recovery.
Moldova’s value in Ukraine’s reconstruction will not come mainly from financing projects.
Its potential lies in logistics, professional services, regional knowledge and cross-border cooperation.
Invest Moldova describes the country as a possible “gateway economy” for businesses seeking to support Ukraine’s recovery. It highlights a natural corridor connecting Moldova and Romania with the Ukrainian regions of Odesa, Vinnytsia and Chernivtsi.
British companies should not assume that opening an office in Moldova will secure Ukrainian contracts.
Instead, they should ask whether an operational presence, local partner or regional team could help them:
- Understand future tendering processes
- Build knowledge of local markets
- Develop compliant supply chains
- Form credible partnerships
- Assess logistics and infrastructure
- Prepare before competition increases
Direct northern air connectivity would make those preparations easier.
Universities and airports should work together
Academic cooperation deserves equal attention.
Universities across Liverpool, Manchester and the wider North can develop:
- Joint research
- Student and staff exchanges
- Innovation projects
- Language and cultural studies
- Business partnerships
- Climate and agricultural research
- Digital skills programmes
- Reconstruction-related expertise
A direct route could make these relationships easier to sustain.
Meanwhile, universities can support an airline’s demand case by identifying student movement, academic visits and institutional partnerships.
Airports, universities and businesses should therefore treat connectivity as a shared regional project.
An urgent invitation to British businesses
The deadline for joining the First UK Business-Led Trade Mission passed on 21 September.
However, companies with serious interest should contact me immediately so we can establish whether any last-minute inclusion remains possible.
Please email RM.Honorary.Consul@gmail.com.
Further information appears on the official mission page.
Readers can follow my work through:
This article continues my Building Bridges series on economic and investment diplomacy.
Express Language Solutions Ltd and Moldovan Diaspora Business Alliance Ltd sponsored this article.
I thank ELS and MDBA for their continued support for UK-Moldova trade, diaspora engagement and stronger international connections.
Airlines, airports, law firms, insurers, banks, universities, logistics providers, tourism businesses and other trade stakeholders can sponsor future Building Bridges articles.
Please contact RM.Honorary.Consul@gmail.com to discuss sponsorship privately.
The Liverpool-Chisinau route represents more than a line on a map.
It could become a northern gateway connecting people, capital, knowledge and opportunity.
Now we must build the evidence, partnerships and commercial case needed to make that gateway sustainable.
About the Author
Dina Railean is the Chief Executive Officer of Express Language Solutions Ltd, Salford President of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Moldova in Manchester, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Moldovan Diaspora Business Alliance, and a Council Member of The Insurance Institute of Manchester.
Through her work across business, diplomacy and professional leadership, she writes about international trade, foreign direct investment, cross-cultural communication, leadership and the strategies that help organisations build trust and succeed across borders.