On February 12, 2022, the world’s largest insurance companies informed Ukrainian airlines that in 48 hours they would stop insuring aircraft for flights in Ukraine. This decision is associated with increased risks of military invasion.
Accordingly, aircraft owners — lessors — demand the return of aircraft to the EU as soon as possible. SkyUp Airlines flight PQ0902 Funchal — Kyiv due to the requirements of the lessor was forced to land outside Ukraine. Despite all the efforts of the airline and the willingness of government agencies of Ukraine to contact the lessor, the owner of the aircraft flatly refused just at a time when the aircraft was already flying to Kyiv. The airline managed to agree on boarding in Chisinau (Moldova) and transferring 175 passengers by bus to Kyiv.
Currently, the airline get similar requirements to return aircraft from other lessors. The situation is being discussed at the state level: in order for airlines to be able to continue flights to Ukraine, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine is holding an urgent meeting to develop solutions.
«The current situation requires a solution at the state level. Now we are working together with state authorities to find solutions,» says Dmytro Seroukhov, CEO at SkyUp Airlines. «We are doing everything possible to continue to operate flights on a regular basis, but we cannot ignore the demands of lessors. We have temporarily stopped the sale of tickets for flights from February 14 to 16, 2022, and are waiting for a solution to the situation.»
At an extraordinary meeting on Sunday, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine decided to allocate funds to the Ministry of Infrastructure from the reserve fund of the State Budget of Ukraine to ensure the safety of aircraft in the country’s airspace.
This decision will stabilize the situation on the market of passenger air transportation and guarantee the return to Ukraine of our citizens who are currently abroad.
The Ukrainian sky remains open, most flights to and from Ukraine are carried out on a regular basis.
