Ukrainian Civil life and Civil Aviation nowhere sees a quick normalcy in the near future due to ongoing Russian invasion ! There have been active NOTAMs to suspend regular domestic and international flights due to the hostile environment prevailing there.
This reason is enough to kill the Ukrainian civil aviation and sending the aircraft to either rot in the war-torn environment or get destroyed by hostile assaults.
Considering all these factors , Ukrainian LLC' SkyUp Airline' has made a desperate effort to save it's fleet, and has appealed to the world's airlines to take it's " 15 medium-haul Boeing-737 aircraft ( Mostly Boeing 737-800 and -700 ) " on wet lease.
SkyUp Airline Fleet , Courtesy : Planespotter.net
Citing the ongoing war , the Airline says,
"That is why we, the Ukrainian airline SkyUp Airlines, appeal to the global aviation family to support us and Ukraine in this fight. In our fleet, we have 15 medium-haul Boeing-737 aircraft, the average age of which is 12 years. They are all ready to work and available for wet leasing."
"By using our aircraft, you will help us continue our operational activities during the war and pay taxes to the state treasury, save 1,300 employees and support the affected Ukrainians as we will send every tenth dollar or euro to help the victims of the war."
"If you represent the airline that does not operate flights to Russia and Belarus and are ready to cooperate, please call +380 67 238 0538 or write to o.tarasov@skyup.aero."
Photo Courtesy : Skyup aero
The SkyUp airline has appealed for a Wet lease (sometimes called an ACMI lease), In this type of lease , the owner of the aircraft provides the aircraft , crew (pilots and cabin crew) , maintenance and insurance (ACMI) .
This indicates , the LCC is interested to engage it's staff as well for the recency of their experience , apart from the remuneration involved in it.
We can barely talk about the condition and the future of regular civil transport aircraft in the country, when the most famous and world's largest aircraft "AN-225" - "Mriya" was not spared !
New Footage of Antonov An-225 Mriya (UR-82060) at Kiev- Antonov (hostomel) Airport suggests substantial damages by Russian Ballistic Missile Strike , as shown by the Russian State Media. The fwd fuselage and right wing can be seen burnt and fallen on ground.#an225 #avgeek pic.twitter.com/hi2bfq5wxy
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) March 4, 2022
Absence of Insurance coverage , and getting shot down by the Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) are prominent reasons to not carry out any flying activity inside any war affected country , and Ukraine is passing through that at the moment.
Examples are available , Seven years before , 298 passengers were killed when Malaysia Airlines MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014 , that was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur .
Photo Courtesy : Anadolu Agency
Just Before the Russian invasion , the government of Ukraine was very much in the favour of a continued civil aviation activity , by providing necessary assistance and funding.
During pre-invasion period , Ukraine had pledged funds to try to keep its airspace open to commercial flights , Ukraine's infrastructure ministry had released a statement saying - airlines were continuing to operate "without any restrictions", and Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said the government had allocated 16.6 billion hryvnia ($592 million) to guarantee the continuation of flights through its airspace.
Photo Courtesy : Skyup aero
Now, Ukraine's airspace is closed , government is trying everything to defend the country , which is obvious , civil aviation can't expect a revival there very soon . This has led the Ukrainian airlines to save their assets from being destroyed.
Yesterday's appeal from the SkyUp Airline has a hidden force, that makes you to think about their struggle to save the country . On this , the carrier says ,
From the very first day of Russia's full-scale invasion to Ukraine, every Ukrainian has been fighting on their own front: some on the frontline, others in the rear. All together, for the freedom of Ukraine and for the future we want to choose ourselves. The future in the civilized world.
The best thing that can be done by those of us who defend our homeland without weapons is to continue to work hard. The highest priority task for Ukrainian business is to continue operations, because that is exactly what Ukraine needs now to ensure economic stability, create additional resources for our armed forces, and support civilians affected by the fighting.
Photo Courtesy : Skyup aero
It will be interesting to see, if any airline or operator is ready to absorb these 15 aircraft from SkyUp Airline , to keep them safe in the first place and maintain the airworthiness of the assets apart from engaging the crew on wet lease.
