On 15 March at 16:00, SkyUp Airlines plane took off for a special flight to Venice to evacuate Ukrainians who had previously tried to return to Ukraine, but were stuck on the Italian border due to the closure of the borders with Slovenia. The flight is carried out upon an initiative of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and as a follow-up to the decision of the Government. This is only the first flight to evacuate Ukrainians who cannot return home owing to introduction of quarantine measures.
About the flight
The aircraft: SkyUp plane, state registration number UR-SQD, Boeing 737-700 with seating capacity of 149 passengers.
Route: Kyiv (Boryspil) - Venice (Marco Polo Airport) - Kyiv (Boryspil)
Team: aircraft crew and healthcare professionals of the Center for Disaster Medicine.
The number of evacuates: 95 (as of the time of publication).
The specialists of the Center for Disaster Medicine will be aboard. The entire crew is also provided with protective masks and disinfectants, in accordance with the general recommendations by the Ministry of Health to the workers of transport industry.
What awaits passengers, crew, and aircraft
Passengers. In Italy, the passengers will be examined by medical workers before boarding the plane in accordance with the algorithms. During the flight, doctors will conduct health surveillance. Upon arrival in Ukraine, all evacuates are required to put themselves in home-based quarantine for 14 days.
“We’ve carried out all the necessary studies in order to monitor the health condition of passengers. People without symptoms of acute viral diseases and with a negative COVID-19 test result will be sent for self-isolation.
I’d like to emphasize that home-based self-isolation, as well as performing outpatient treatment of people with a mild illness, is safe for others, provided that the recommendations of the Ministry of Health specified in the Medical Care Standards are respected”, said Deputy Minister of Health, Chief State Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine Viktor Lyashko .
Crew. The crew will not leave the aircraft in the quarantine zone, so there is no reason for them to put themselves into self-isolation.
Aircraft. Upon the initiative of the airline, after completion of the flight the aircraft will be disinfected and cleaned using the technology prescribed by the airport. After completion of the procedures, the aircraft will be opened for ventilation and then general cleaning will be carried out.