Ukrainian carrier SkyUp Airlines is to open a Moldovan base from which it will operate several routes to European destinations.
SkyUp will conduct the services through its Maltese arm, SkyUp MT, which secured certification last year.
It will offer flights under SkyUp MT’s ‘U5’ designator code from the Moldovan capital Chisinau beginning in April 2025.
The services will connect Chisinau to Paris Beauvais, Lisbon, Barcelona, Alicante, Palma de Mallorca, Larnaca in Cyprus, and the Greek cities of Thessaloniki and Heraklion.
SkyUp says it has signed an agreement with Bulgaria’s Fly2Sky which will supply Airbus A320s for the Moldovan plan, indicating the aircraft will operate under a damp lease.
Fly2Sky disclosed in November that it had reached a lease pact with SkyUp under which it will provide four aircraft – two A320s for three years, and two A321s until the end of October next year.
It stated that it would support SkyUp’s plans to “establish a base in Europe” in summer 2025.
SkyUp has been unable to fly from Ukrainian territory as a consequence of the conflict with Russia which began in early 2022, while Moldova’s flag-carrier, Air Moldova, collapsed last year.
Scheduled services from Chisinau are offered by FlyOne and HiSky.
SkyUp established SkyUp MT to establish a presence within the European Union.
Moldova has a common aviation area agreement with the EU which grants freedom for EU operators to serve Moldovan routes.
