Ukrainian airline SkyUp Airlines opened a company in Malta and received the relevant certificates, which in the future will allow it to open scheduled flights in Europe, as well as to effectively perform contracts on “wet” leasing terms.
“SkyUp MT airline received its air operator certificate (AOC), CAMO (Continuing airworthiness management organization) and flight operating license (AOL). The airline’s office is located in Malta, which is one of the countries of the European Union. “This allows the air carrier to effectively carry out contracts on a wet lease, as well as in the future to open scheduled flights from Europe,” the airline’s press service said on Friday.
The issuance of the AOC and AOL license is an important milestone for SkyUp MT to begin fully operating in Europe, the statement said.
SkyUp MT reportedly registered its first aircraft in Malta, a Boeing 737-800, which received the registration mark 9H-SAU, which used to be part of the SkyUp Airlines fleet. It is a 2011 aircraft with a 189-seat cabin configuration. Upon request of the airline, it was modified by installing modern Geven seats. Also the ship was equipped with winglets, which help to save fuel.
By the end of 2023 SkyUp MT plans to receive new aircraft. Their exact number is not reported, but it is specified that they will not be from the Ukrainian fleet of SkyUp Airlines, but will come under new contracts.
“The SkyUp brand with Ukrainian DNA is becoming international. We are one of the first to do so in the history of Ukrainian aviation. For us it means opening new opportunities and scaling the business,” the press service quoted SkyUp Airlines co-owner Alexander Alba as saying.
He also stressed that the hull of the aircraft, which was the first aircraft SkyUp MT, has the inscription The Power of Freedom, which was applied within the partnership with the fundraising platform UNITED24. The airline believes that this is not only symbolic, but also will attract more fundraising for Ukraine, as the ship will operate on European flights.
Earlier it was reported that SkyUp Airlines evacuated the last plane from Boryspil airport to Iasi (Romania).
SkyUp Airlines (Kiev) carried 2.3 times fewer passengers in 2022 than in 2021 – 1.08 million, due to the full-scale aggression of Russia and against Ukraine and the closure of Ukrainian skies since February 24 last year. After the war began, the company worked on a “wet lease” with 10 airlines, including Wizz Air, SmartWings, Freebird Airlines, Tailwind Airlines, and Corendon Airlines, and in just one year it operated 7,713 flights to 204 airports worldwide on 627 routes.
Skyap Airlines LLC was registered in Kiev in June 2016, and made its first flight in 2018. The founder is ACS-Ukraine LLC of Tatyana and Yuri Alba, who also own JoinUp tour operator!
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.
By decision No. 715 dated May 6, the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine canceled the rights of SkyUp to fly on 33 routes from Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Zaporizhia and Kharkiv to a number of countries. According to the document on the State Aviation Administration’s website, the flight rights were revoked based on the airline’s statement.
According to the regulator, SkyUp canceled flights from Kyiv to Poprad, Nuremberg, Hannover, Athens, Stockholm, Warsaw, Memmingen, Amman, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Cologne, Ljubljana, Copenhagen, Bratislava, Brno, Ostrava and Gdansk.
SkyUp will not fly from Lviv to Munich, Stuttgart, Bratislava, Amsterdam and Prague.
SkyUp also waived the rights to flights from Odesa to Munich, Athens, Larnaca and Amsterdam; from Zaporizhia – to Berlin, Stuttgart, Tel Aviv and Prague; and besides, from Kharkiv to Bratislava, Tel Aviv and Prague.
By another decision No. 719 dated May 6, the State Aviation Administration also, on the basis of the airline’s appeal, reduced the possible frequency of SkyUp flights on flights from Kyiv to Yerevan, Alicante, Catania, Rimini, Bologna, Palma de Mallorca.
At the same time, in April SkyUp Airlines carried 138,160 passengers, operating 836 passenger flights, which is 128 flights more than a month earlier.
SkyUp (Kyiv) has withdrawn from sale tickets for 15 routes from Kyiv and Lviv to Europe, which it planned to launch within the summer schedule.
As the company’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine, in particular, the routes from Kyiv (Boryspil International Airport) to Germany – Berlin, Hanover, Nuremberg, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Munich and Stuttgart were removed from the ticket booking system.
In addition, the sale of tickets for routes from Kyiv to Copenhagen, Stockholm and Ostrava, as well as from Lviv to Alicante, Lodz, Bergamo, Paris and Prague is closed.
According to the company, passengers who purchased tickets for these flights through the airline’s website will receive funds for them to the balance in their personal account. They can be used to purchase any tickets or additional services of the airline. The funds will be kept on the balance sheet without time limits and can be spent in favor of any person, not only the account owner. In addition, it will be possible to withdraw money from the balance to the card.
If the ticket was purchased through an airline sales agent, one needs to contact the place of purchase to clarify the options.
The Ukrainian low cost air carrier SkyUp Airlines (Kyiv) will launch new flight from Kyiv to Turin (Italy) for a winter navigation period 2019/2020, airlines reported on its website.
The flights will be operated twice a week: on Thursdays and on Sundays. The cost of a ticket starts from UAH 1,410.
As reported, SkyUp from October will launch direct flights between Kharkiv and Lviv, as well as flights from Kyiv to Kharkiv and Zaporizhia.
SkyUp Airlines in the first half of 2019 transported 668,500 passengers.
Currently, the airline’s fleet includes eight aircraft: six Boeing 737-800s and two Boeing 737-700s.
