The State Aviation Administration of Ukraine (SAAU) says it has launched a formal investigation into YanAir (YE, Kyiv Igor Sikorsky) following a series of delays this past week.
The watchdog said in a statement that it would undertake an audit of YanAir's operations including its fleet and its rights policy concerning the treatment of passengers affected by long delays.
"In the event any violations [of relevant Civil Aviation Regulations] are detected, the airline will be subject to sanctions in accordance with applicable law," it said.
Over the past two weeks, YanAir's regular and chartered flights to Bulgaria, Turkey, and Cyprus have suffered severe disruptions owing to unspecified issues with its fleet.
The most prominent incident saw 150 passengers being stuck in Burgas, Bulgaria for over twenty hours this past week while they awaited a back-up aircraft to arrive from Kiev. Several passengers subsequently complained they were never taken care of in terms of meals or accommodation as required under European law.
Then this past weekend, the carrier's Turkish flights were affected by the country-wide lockdown that occurred during and after the aborted military coup attempt.
YanAir's CEO Jaroslav Agafonov has issued a statement claiming that all affected passengers, the elderly and the young in particular, were taken care of in accordance with local laws and regulations.
YanAir operates two A320-200s (one on lease to Sudan Airways (SD, Khartoum)), one A321-100, two B737-300s, one B737-400, and two Saab 340As on charter flights as well as on scheduled passenger flights to Cyprus and Georgia from various points in Ukraine.
