Wizz Air has leased aircraft from Ukraine’s SkyUp to overcome fleet shortage
European low-cost airline Wizz Air has signed an agreement to lease the entire fleet of Ukrainian airline SkyUp, registered in Malta, to cope with a large shortage of aircraft. Wizz Air is currently facing serious difficulties, having canceled dozens of flights across Europe due to the shutdown of a quarter of its fleet. These measures were taken after problems with the Pratt & Whitney GTF engines were discovered.
SkyUp announced that it has leased three of its Boeing 737-800 aircraft on wet terms until March 31, 2025. This lease provides aircraft with crew and insurance, with a fixed fee for each flight, regardless of the number of passengers. Two planes are based in Bucharest and one in Warsaw, and are already actively used for Wizz Air flights.
It is noted that SkyUp’s Boeing 737-800 aircraft have a similar layout to Wizz Air’s Airbus A320neo models, which were suspended from flights. The Boeing 737-800 can carry 189 passengers, while the Airbus A320neo can carry 186 passengers.
Earlier, SkyUp registered a subsidiary in Malta called SkyUp MT and transferred its aircraft from Ukrainian registration to Maltese. This has allowed the company to operate in the European market without restrictions, as working under the EU flag opens up new opportunities for the airline, which was one of the largest in Ukraine before the Russian invasion.
According to flightradar24, SkyUp Airlines has 10 aircraft in its fleet, 3 of which are registered in Malta. All these aircraft operate in Europe and the Middle East. After the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine, most of SkyUp’s planes were outside of Ukraine, but some planes were taken out of Ukrainian airports after the Russian invasion began.
Previously, SkyUp’s fleet consisted of 11 aircraft, but on April 15, 2023, one Boeing 737-800 of SkyUp Airlines was destroyed at Khartoum Airport during fighting between government forces and the Sudanese Rapid Support Force. This was reported by Interfax-Ukraine. There were no reports of casualties.
