Airlines, security issues and repatriation flights



As tensions rise, airlines operating in Ukraine face numerous challenges regarding security, insurance, diversion, repatriation and other issues. In this article you will find some of the latest information related to commercial aviation.

International Ukrainian airlines

The country’s flag carrier airline confirmed on Monday that it had received an official notification from insurers ending aircraft cover for its flights in Ukrainian airspace. With this, the UIA sent 5 Boeing 737-800s to long-term storage in Castellon, Spain, another two aircraft were sent to Serbia for scheduled maintenance.

The UIA fleet includes 25 jets of various modifications: 1 Boeing 777-200ER, 1 Boeing 767-300ER, 16 Boeing-737 NG, 5 Embraer-190 and 2 ERJ 195.

“UIA is constantly making efforts and negotiating with insurance companies, Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, State Aviation Administration and hoping for mutual understanding,”

International Ukrainian airlines

The Ukrainian government announced today that it has allocated $590 million in funds to cover insurance for aircraft operating in the country. This measure aims to protect the country’s airlines after the loss of insurance coverage against the risk of armed conflict. At least 23 planes are covered by the funds, which will be returned to the budget if they are not used.

“This decision is a signal to the international community that Ukraine is ready to assume financial obligations for the safety of aircraft in Ukrainian airspace. Most flights to and from Ukraine are running as normal.

infrastructure minister Alexander Kubrakov

Security issues

KLM was the first airline in the world to halt flights to Ukraine. At the end of January, the airline announced the cancellation of its crew members’ overnight stays in Kyiv and, on February 12, took the decision to stop its twice-daily flights between Amsterdam and Kyiv until further notice.

KLM has already stopped flying over the eastern regions of Ukraine and Crimea since 2014, when Malaysia Airlines’ MH17 was stopped by a missile.

Derivation

On Saturday, a Boeing 737-800 SkyUp en route from Madeira, Portugal, to Kyiv was forced to land in Chisinau, Moldova, with 175 passengers after the owner of the plane’s Irish leasing company said that he prohibited his planes from operating in Ukrainian airspace.

The current situation requires a state-level solution. Now we are working with state authorities to find solutions. We are doing everything we can to continue operating flights on a regular basis, but we cannot ignore the requests from rental companies. We have temporarily halted ticket sales for flights from February 14 to 16, 2022 and are awaiting a resolution to the situation.

Dmytro Serukhov, CEO of SkyUp Airlines

Today Norwegian decided to avoid Ukrainian airspace until further notice. The airline does not fly directly to any Ukrainian airports, but some of them fly over western parts of Ukrainian airspace, such as those to Turkey.

“We made this decision based on a comprehensive safety assessment. This is why we have decided to suspend flights over Ukraine. Safety always comes first”

Three weeks ago, Lufthansa postponed flights from Munich and Frankfurt to Kyiv-Boryspil airport, ending overnight parking – lands at 11.30 p.m. and departs around 2 a.m. – for fear of a Russian invasion which could mean that crews and planes could be caught up. in any military action.

Repatriation and additional flights

Air Arabia and Royal Air Maroc announced on February 14 repatriation flights connecting Kyiv to Tangier and Casablanca respectively on February 15, this after Morocco urged nationals living in Ukraine to leave the country.

Also today, Riga-based airBaltic announced that it will operate two additional flights from Kyiv, Ukraine to Riga, Latvia on February 15 and 16. The airline also plans to operate direct flights from Kyiv to Vilnius on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays as well. like Odessa in Riga on Saturday.

Cover photo by Marvin Mutz

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