On February 14, Ukrainian airlines lost eight aircraft at once. They were sent abroad after the insurance companies changed the conditions of flight insurance, and the owners of the aircraft began to demand that they take the aircraft abroad. This happened against the backdrop of panic in the Western media due to a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.
UIA sent seven Boeing 737-800s abroad, and Bees Airline sent another such aircraft. This happened because leasing companies are afraid for their property against the backdrop of possible hostilities and the cancellation of insurance coverage for such risks.
The withdrawal of a large number of airliners from the fleet did not lead to the collapse of the schedule of air carriers. This is due to the fact that in the winter season, aircraft have less flight time. For example, at UIA, airliners that flew abroad have been idle for the last month without flights or made 2-3 flights a day instead of 6.
As a result, such a force majeure actually turned in favor of airlines, which now can not pay for the lease of aircraft that they do not yet need.
SkyUp, whose plane was stuck in Chisinau on February 13 after the lessor banned entry into Ukrainian airspace, is also continuing to fly.
SkyUp CEO Dmitry Seroukhov said that the airline remains in the Ukrainian sky in full, as it was able to negotiate with insurers with the support of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the government of Ukraine.
To prevent lessors from taking planes out of Ukraine, the government allocated UAH 16.6 billion as guarantees for 23 planes. These guarantees cover 12 UIA aircraft, seven SkyUps and four Bees Airlines. Aircraft withdrawn from the UIA fleet, the airline did not ask to be included in these state guarantees, a source in the Ministry of Infrastructure said. Only the retired Bees Airline aircraft fell under them.
The other two largest airlines in the country – Azur Air Ukraine and Windrose (“Windrose”) did not apply for state support. Windrose said it was operating scheduled flights and declined to comment on relationships with lessors.
So far, the worst-case scenario has not occurred. Ukrainian airlines have lost only part of the fleet and in the low season they can operate flights with the remaining aircraft. However, insurance companies keep the entire market in suspense. They can change the conditions in a matter of hours, and then additional airliners will have to be taken out of Ukraine. In this case, it can seriously affect the flight schedule.