Ukraine's Bees Airline appeals AOC cancellation

Ukrainian CAA revokes Bees Airline's AOC

Ukraine's SkyUp Airlines seeks ACMI deals for all B737s

SkyUp Airlines (PQ, Kyiv Boryspil) has offered all but one of its B737NG aircraft up for wet-lease as the airline remains grounded due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that SkyUp Airlines operates fifteen B737NGs in total, comprising two B737-700s, nine B737-800s, and four B737-900(ER)s. The carrier clarified that it is seeking ACMI contracts for all of them except for a single -800, UR-SQP (msn 33029), which remains at Kyiv Boryspil and is unable to fly out due to the closure of Ukrainian airspace amidst ongoing Russian bombardment.

All other aircraft are currently stored outside Ukraine. The four -900(ER)s have been undergoing scheduled maintenance at Tallinn Lennart Meri since November 2021 but are now available for operations. The remaining ten aircraft were parked abroad during February 2022, as lessors and insurers grew progressively concerned about the safety situation in Ukraine prior to Russia's invasion. Flightradar24 ADS-B shows that the two -700s are currently parked at Iasi and Izmir airports, while...

Ukraine closes airspace as Russia invades

The State Enterprise of Air Traffic Services of Ukraine (UkSATSE) issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) closing the Ukrainian airspace to all civilian flights as of 0245L (0045Z) on February 24, 2022, due to the Russian and Belarusian invasion of the country.

"The provision of air traffic services to civilian users of the airspace of Ukraine is suspended," UkSATSE said.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued an additional warning covering Belarusian and Russian airspace near the border with Ukraine.

"Operators should exercise extreme caution and avoid using the airspace within 100 nautical miles [185.2 kilometres] of the Belarusian and Russia-Ukraine border. [...] In particular, there is a risk of both intentional targeting and misidentification of civil aircraft," the European agency advised.

Later, the EASA extended its advisory to 200 nautical miles (370.4 kilometres) from Ukrainian borders in the Russian airspace.

For its part, Russia initially closed a number of air routes in the Rostov Flight Information Region (FIR), an area adjacent to eastern Ukraine, on February 22. It later issued an additional...

Editorial Comment: Updates with information about the closure of the Moldovan airspace and the extension of the EASA Conflict Zone Information Bulletin. - 24.02.2022 - 18:56 UTC

Lufthansa Group carriers suspend Kyiv, Odesa flights

All Lufthansa Group carriers have suspended scheduled services to Ukraine except for flights to Lviv in the west of the country as concerns over a potential further Russian invasion mount.

The German holding said that all of its flights to Kyiv Boryspil and Odesa had been suspended as of February 21, 2022.

Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows that Lufthansa operated its last flights from Frankfurt International and Munich to Kyiv Boryspil on Sunday, February 20. Austrian Airlines has also suspended its services from Vienna to Kyiv Boryspil and Odesa, while Swiss has paused flights from Zurich to Kyiv. The remaining group carriers (Eurowings and Brussels Airlines) do not serve Ukraine.

Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines continue to serve Lviv, which is located the furthest from the frontline between Ukraine and Russia-controlled separatist territories in the east. No other group carrier flies to the city. Multiple embassies, including the United States and the United Kingdom, have relocated most of their staff from Kyiv to Lviv...