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On February 12th, a SkyUp Airlines Boeing 737 from Funchal, Madeira to Kyiv, Ukraine was diverted to Chisinau, Moldova. The reason for the diversion is due to the lessor not wanting the aircraft to fly into Ukrainian airspace amid the tense political situation in the country.

Unexpected turn

SkyUp is a Ukrainian charter and low-cost carrier. Its headquarters is in Kyiv, and it also has bases in Lviv and Kharkiv. The airline flies to several hotspots with its fleet of Boeing 737 family aircraft.

Yet, this weekend, amid the rising tensions in Eastern Europe, one of SkyUp’s planes was diverted with over 170 passengers on board. Flight PQ902 landed in Moldova, just south of the destination country.

Global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw shared the following on Twitter

“Ukrainian discount airline SkyUp forced to land a leased jet in Chisinau Moldova Sunday after the Irish owner insisted it not fly into Ukrainian airspace, the airline confirms. The Madeira-Kyiv flight had 175 pax aboard and all are being transferred to Kyiv.”

Flightradar24.com reports that the Boeing 737-82R departed Funchal Cristiano Ronaldo Airport at 21:04 for a scheduled arrival time at Kyiv Boryspil International Airport at 03:50. However, the aircraft was diverted to Chisinau International Airport, landing at 04:25 EET. The total flight duration was five hours and 21 minutes.

A word from the airline

SkyUp released a statement regarding the incident. It shared that it provided food and the arrangement of alternative transport for the passengers. Moreover, it worked with the Embassy of Ukraine in Moldova to ensure the safe return of the travelers.

"On February 12, 2022, the lessor, a resident of Ireland, informed the airline of an immediate ban on the entry of UR-SQO aircraft into Ukrainian airspace. Despite all the efforts of the airline and the willingness of government agencies of Ukraine to contact the lessor, the owner of the aircraft flatly refused just at a time when the aircraft was already flying to Kyiv."

More on the aircraft

Registration UR-SQO, the aircraft that was diverted, holds MSN 40880 and conducted its first flight on December 11th, 2012. With an age of nearly 10 years, the unit was delivered to Pegasus Airlines later that month, with the Turkish low-cost carrier operating it until last July before SkyUp took it on in August 2021.

According to ch-aviation, the aircraft owner and manager is Deucalion Aviation. The name of Lunar Aircraft Trading is placed in the field of "Aircraft Owner Special Purpose Vehicle." Deucalion Aviation prides itself on being a great partner for all segments of the aviation cycle, providing aircraft asset management, financing, and investment services.

SkyUp Airlines 737
Photo: SkyUp Airlines

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Notably, being operated by a Ukrainian carrier in the form of SkyUp, the twinjet was spotted in Kyiv every day recently until just yesterday. The plane was also seen in several European and Middle Eastern hotspots, including Prague and Dubai, over the last week.

Sensitive climate

Overall, the conditions in Eastern Europe are heating up, forcing airlines to make tough decisions recently. For instance, KLM, which previously restructured its flight operations so that there would be no overnight stays in Kyiv, yesterday stated that it will stop flying to Ukraine. Despite denials, there have been amounting concerns of a Russian invasion occurring soon, with several foreign government officials advising their compatriots to leave Ukraine.

Simple flying reached out to SkyUp for comment on the flight diversion. We will update the article with any announcements from the airline.

What are your thoughts about this SkyUp Airlines Boeing 737 flight diversion to Chisinau from Kyiv? What do you make of the overall situation in Ukraine in regard to aviation activity? Let us know what you think of the current conditions in the comment section.