The war with russia has been going on for the second month. While the Armed Forces of Ukraine are doing everything possible to protect our state from the occupiers, the task of business is to support the country's economy as much as possible. Despite the fact that the company's operations have almost been stopped, we were looking for ways to continue SkyUp Airlines activity in the difficult times for the country. After analyzing the current situation, we turned to the world market with proposals for cooperation in the following areas:
- execution of evacuation flights
- humanitarian aid cargo
- joining our specialists to expertise
- wet lease
Since the beginning of the war, all flights to / from Ukraine have been suspended.
Passengers of canceled flights
A total of UAH 84,821,184 was credited to all passengers of canceled flights in the period from February 24 to April 24 (amounting to $ 2.9 million, respectively) on their passenger balance. After the end of the war and the resumption of flights, passengers will be able to use the funds from the balance for any SkyUp air travel. All funds will be stored on the passenger's balance indefinitely and can be used to purchase any tickets or airline services on the skyup.aero website. More about the features and benefits of the passenger's balance here.
Evacuation flights
During March, SkyUp carried out 21 evacuation flights on the Chisinau-Tel Aviv route and transported a total of 2,835 refugees to Israel under a repatriation program. Along with our passengers, 124 of their pets went to Israel.
SkyUp is currently working on evacuation flights to Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom and the Israel-Romania program.
We also organized evacuation trips for about a hundred people - employees of the UPFamily group of companies and their families. Together with the sponsors, they organized gifts with warm clothes, thermal underwear, shoes and fruit for those crew members who found themselves in cold countries after flights to warm.
UPFamily in defense of Ukraine
We are proud that the members of our UPFamily take an active civil position. SkyUp employees did not stay away from national resistance: some of our colleagues were mobilized in the Armed Forces and defended Ukraine at the front, some joined the territorial defense, some UPFamily members decided to defend the country in the digital space by joining the cyber army. We have also formed our own militarized volunteer battalion, which we have symbolically called ”Skybat“: it has combined efforts to protect both the capital and volunteer functions.
Our fellow defenders supported the children who were in the shelters at the metro stations near the office - little Ukrainians received toys, airplanes and sweets. From the offices and airport warehouses, Skybat collected all supplies and supplies that may be useful at the front, and handed them over to representatives of the Armed Forces, the municipal guard and the national police. In addition, the team provided medication to anyone in need, including military hospitals and children's hospitals.
We have decided that after the victory we will continue to develop Skybat. We plan to conduct training in shooting, the basics of first aid, etc.
Cargo and humanitarian cargo
In total, we have transported 112 tons of humanitarian cargo during this time. The cargo included medicines, insulin, baby food, personal hygiene products and household chemicals, blankets, diapers, etc. The cargo was distributed according to its purpose: for the needs of Ukrainian refugees in Chisinau and in various cities of Ukraine.
In addition, for the first time in the history of Suceava Airport (Romania), the company agreed on the possibility of transporting cargo. This is the closest point to the border of Ukraine. We have also started cooperation with the portal www.logistic-aide-ukraine.org for the formation of cargo for SkyUp flights: https://www.logistic-aide-ukraine.org/forum/logistics-support-offers/skyup-is-offering- cargo-flights-to-the-ukrainian-border .
So far, the company has confirmed the transportation of humanitarian goods from Portugal and Israel to Ukraine via Poland, including helmets and military clothing.
We have returned from Israel the bodies of the dead Ukrainian citizens Viktor Sorokoput and Dmytro Mitrik, who died on March 29 in the terrorist attack in Bnei Brak.
Further plans and goals
We continue to look for opportunities to leverage available resources. Thus, the company plans to transport large volumes of cargo from China to Ukraine via Poland / Romania / Moldova. In addition, our team is currently developing a concept for shipping from the United States, which requires a special procedure for obtaining FAA permits.
SkyUp is in dialogue with Southern Airways Express to brand their aircraft in the colors of the Ukrainian flag and is discussing the possibility of creating "sister airlines" that could hire our employees on an outsourcing basis.
We offer our own aircraft on wet leasing terms. 8 medium-haul aircraft are available for flights to any country in the world, except russia, belarus and the territories where hostilities are taking place. In this regard, we participate in all possible activities to announce our opportunities in international markets. So, on March 31 during the Aviation Event 2022, which took place in Cluj this year, we had the opportunity to end this event by announcing not only the capabilities of the airline, but also to ask the international community to supply the necessary weapons to protect Ukraine's skies.
You can learn more about cooperation with SkyUp Airlines at the link.
Glory to Ukraine!