Ukrainian airline SkyUp has signed a deal to wet lease three of its Boeing 737 aircraft to Wizz Air. The term of the contract is for one year, starting on April 1, 2024, and running until March 31, 2025.
Two of these aircraft will be based at Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport (OTP), Romania, while the third will based in Warsaw (WAW), Poland.
SkyUp was an emerging low-cost operator in Ukraine until 2022, when the Russian invasion forced the evacuation of its fleet to other European countries. This saw a dramatic shift in its business model, with the airline becoming one of Europe’s largest ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance) operators.
SkyUp’s aircraft and crews have since flown for airlines such as Tunisair, FlyOne, HiSky, Wizz Air, Corendon, Tailwind Airlines and FlyEgypt. Two of its aircraft were destroyed while conducting an ACMI assignment after being caught in the crossfire during the battle for control of Khartoum International Airport (KRT) in Sudan.
In 2023, SkyUp received permission to operate in US airspace, as well.
Wizz Air has also been heavily impacted by the war in Ukraine. In addition to the loss of major markets, several of its aircraft were grounded at Ukrainian airports. While the ultra-low-cost carrier has managed to repatriate some of these aircraft, as of April 2024, three remain grounded in Kyiv.
