In 2023, Ukrainian airline SkyUp Airlines increased the number of passengers carried by 24% compared to 2022, to 1.546 million.
According to the official website of SkyUp Airlines, the airline also operated 10,528 flights to 53 countries on 664 routes, which is 36% more than in 2022.
The largest number of flights were operated by SkyUp Airlines to/from Chisinau Airport – 2 thousand flights, Egypt – 1.685 thousand, Turkey – 1.219 thousand, Tunisia – 675 flights, Romania – 556 flights, the report says.
It is noted that in 2023, the airline cooperated under ACMI contracts with Tunisair, FlyOne, HiSky SRL, HiSky Europe SRL, Wizz Air Malta, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, Corendon Dutch, Tailwind Airlines, and FlyEgypt.
“After a turbulent 2022, 2023 was a year of stabilization for the airline. We significantly increased the volume of ACMI contracts and became one of the 20 most popular airlines in Europe. These results allowed us to retain a team of professionals, which is now actually the key to the future recovery of Ukrainian civil aviation,” SkyUp CEO Dmytro Seroukhov said in a statement.
He assured that in 2024, the airline will continue to strengthen its position in the ACMI and charter markets, and expressed hope for Ukraine’s soonest victory and the resumption of flights in Ukrainian airspace.
SkyUp reported that in 2023 it retained a team of 1,139 professionals and paid almost UAH 200 million in taxes to the state.
In November and December 2023, SkyUp Airlines took part in a highly complex operation to rescue Ukrainian citizens from the Gaza Strip. We managed to evacuate about 200 Ukrainians. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked SkyUp Airlines for its assistance in the evacuation of Ukrainians from the Gaza Strip, the statement said.
It is also said that SkyUp is working to improve processes and introduce modern technologies: in 2023, the company signed an agreement with IBS Software to implement solutions that will modernize distribution, increase revenues, and improve service systems.
In addition, the airline is implementing an aviation security risk management system from Osprey Flight Solutions. The airline has trained staff and launched the software, the statement said. It is noted that thanks to adapted data collection, forecasting capabilities, automatic alerts and prioritization, the Osprey system continuously monitors changes, instantly adjusts risk assessments and sends appropriate notifications for further decision-making on possible changes to routes and flight schedules.
In 2023, SkyUP entered the European market by founding SkyUp MT, which received an Air Operator Certificate (AOC), a Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization (CAMO) certificate, and an Air Operator License (AOL). The airline’s office is located in Malta, and its fleet currently includes two Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
In 2023, the airline received permission to operate in the United States of America – a foreign air carrier certificate FAR129. In addition, SkyUp can operate in Canada. The FAOC certificate allows the Ukrainian airline to provide ACMI services and operate charter flights from other countries to Canada.
SkyUp has been operating commercial flights under ACMI contracts since mid-April 2022. As of June 2023, according to the ACMI Contract Monitor report by ch-aviation, the carrier was ranked among the top 15 ACMI service providers and among the airlines with the largest ACMI contracts.
