The Antonov State Enterprise (Kiev) has started the construction of a second An-225 Mriya aircraft to replace the one destroyed by the Russians in February during the hostilities in Gostomel (Kiev region), said Yevhen Gavrilov, director general of the enterprise
“The works are being carried out in a secret location. The second An-225 will be built using both new parts and parts of the damaged aircraft,” Gavrilov told Bild.
According to him, the second Mriya is already 30% ready. The construction cost is estimated at EUR500 million.
Gavrilov said that at an exhibition at the Leipzig/Halle International Airport, where Antonov Airlines is temporarily based, there are plans to organize a sale of merchandise to raise funds for the construction of the aircraft.
Meanwhile later the company clarified that there are some inaccuracies in the previously publicized information: only design work has begun and there are only 30% of components for the new aircraft.
“Design work in this direction has now begun. According to the available expert estimates, there are currently about 30% of the components that can be used for the second prototype aircraft. The cost of building the aircraft is estimated at least at EUR500 million. However, it is still too early to talk about the specific amount,” clarified the SE “Antonov”.
Besides, the company added that “more detailed information will be disseminated after Ukraine wins the war”.
SkyUp Airlines (Kyiv) is ready to transfer 15 Boeing-737 aircraft on wet lease (with crew) to foreign airlines that do not fly to Russia and Belarus.
“We, the Ukrainian airline SkyUp Airlines, appeal to the global aviation family to support us and Ukraine in this fight. In our fleet, we have 15 medium-haul Boeing-737 aircraft, the average age of which is 12 years. They are all ready to work and available for wet leasing,” the airline said on its website.
SkyUp said that “by using our aircraft, you will help us continue our operational activities during the war and pay taxes to the state treasury, save 1,300 employees and support the affected Ukrainians as we will send every tenth dollar or euro to help the victims of the war.”
As reported, from 2:45 Kyiv time on February 24, 2022, the airspace of Ukraine is closed for civil traffic.
Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air has deployed seven more aircraft in Ukraine, increasing their total number from four to 11.
As the airline said at a press conference on Wednesday, five new aircraft are deployed in Kyiv (in addition to the three already based in Kyiv), and two more aircraft will receive a base in Lviv (in addition to one aircraft).
Wizz Air also plans to launch 12 new directions from Kyiv, nine from Lviv, three from Odesa and two from Kharkiv in 2021-2022.
In addition, Wizz Air will have four new countries on the map of flights with Ukraine – Spain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
In total, the airline plans to service 117 destinations from Ukraine to 22 countries.
SkyUp (Kyiv) has acquired the thirteenth aircraft for its fleet – a medium-haul Boeing 737-800NG for 189 passengers.
The airline reported on Facebook this is the seventh aircraft of this model in the SkyUp fleet.
“The bird’s name is Oscar, registration number is UR-SQO. The aircraft was manufactured in 2012, passed a thorough technical check. Now it is equipped with Blended Winglets. You can meet our Oscar on international and domestic SkyUp routes,” the airline said.
CEO of SkyUp Airlines Dmytro Seroukhov, in turn, noted on his Facebook page that the company’s fleet will soon be replenished with two more aircraft.
“The 13th bird is at home! Many thanks to the whole team for this, I know how difficult it was, but we all did it! Very soon the SkyUp park will be replenished with the 14th and 15th aircraft,” he wrote.
SkyUp Airlines LLC was registered in Kyiv in June 2016. The founders are Tetiana and Yuriy Alba’s ACS-Ukraine LLC, which also owns the JoinUp! tour operator.
A new runway of Odessa International Airport from July 16 began to accept aircraft, the first board to land on the runway was internal flight PQ107 from Boryspil to Odessa of SkyUp Airlines.
“The new runway is the starting point of a new era, our airport is beginning to transform into a powerful air hub in Eastern Europe,” Director of Odessa International Airport Volodymyr Semenchenko said during the opening ceremony of the development concept.
According to his forecasts, after last year’s drop in passenger traffic, Odessa airport expects to accept 1.45 million people in 2021, and reach 4 million in 2026.
The length of the new runway is 2.8 km, the width is 45 meters, construction work lasted 31 months. The accompanying infrastructure was also built: two steering lanes, a modern navigation system for landing, an apron in front of the new terminal, four bridges for boarding and disembarking passengers.
For the first time in Eastern Europe, the technology of “heavy” concrete with a thickness of 40 cm was used, due to which the strength and capacity of the strip was doubled.
According to Semenchenko, after extending the strip up to 3.2 km, the airport will be able to accept E class aircraft, which operate long-haul flights.
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA, Kyiv) is ready to transport vaccines.
“Since the beginning of 2021, the active stage of vaccination has begun all over the world, which will tend to increase throughout the current year. In order to ensure safe delivery of vaccines, UIA has prepared Boeing 737 and Boeing 767 aircraft to transport the vaccines as cargo,” the press service of UIA said on Monday.
The airline also expressed its readiness to transport the vaccine not only to Ukraine, but all over the world. At the same time, it is noted that given the peculiarities of compliance with the required temperature regimes, transportation of the vaccine by air is the fastest and most reliable method of delivery.
According to the company, since the implementation of quarantine measures, UIA has transported 870 tonnes of medical cargo.
