Ukraine's SkyUp signs wet-leasing contract with Hungary's Wizz Air

MOSCOW. April 12 (Interfax) - Ukraine's SkyUp Airlines and Hungary's Wizz Air low-cost airline have signed a contract for the provision of wet-leasing services, or leasing an aircraft, a complete crew, maintenance, and insurance (ACMI).

"SkyUp Airlines has signed a contract with Wizz Air for the period from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025. The contract envisages leasing three SkyUp aircraft on the ACMI terms. Two of these aircraft will be based in Bucharest and one in Warsaw," Ukrainian media outlets quoted SkyUp Airlines' press service as saying on social networks.

SkyUp Airlines Director General Dmitry Seroukhov said that the development of transportation under wet-leasing contracts is currently a central element of the airline's development strategy.

"The signing of the contract with Wizz Air is an important stage for us because we already have a positive experience of cooperation with this air carrier. It ones again proves that SkyUp is a reliable partner for Europe's leading airlines and can ensure a high level of the security and the quality of services," the press service quoted Seroukhov as saying.

SkyUp Airlines is developing wet-lease since 2022, after the crisis began and the airspace in Ukraine was closed. In 2022, the airline worked under ACMI contracts with ten other airlines, including Wizz Air, SRL, HiSky Europe SRL, Wizz Air Malta, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, Corendon Dutch, Tailwind Airlines, and FlyEgypt. In the summer of 2023, the ch-aviation company included SkyUp Airlines in the list of top 20 largest providers of ACMI services in Europe.

It was reported earlier that in 2023, SkyUp increased the number of passengers carried by 24% compared to 2022, reaching 1.546 million. The airline also performed 10,528 flights to 53 countries under 664 routes, which is 36% higher than in 2022.