Kharkiv Airlines temporarily suspends operations

Kharkiv Airlines (KW, Kharkov) has temporarily suspended operations following the end of the 2014/15 winter season. The carrier's press service told Ukraine's Liga news agency that it is seeking to resume operations this summer season with charter flights to "popular tourist destinations" for and on behalf of its parent, tour operator Pegas Touristik.

According to the report, Kharkiv's only aircraft - B737-800 UR-CLS (msn 32841) - is now in Turkey undergoing maintenance effectively leaving the airline with no operational aircraft at present.

At its peak, Kharkiv Airlines had operated a fleet of two B737-800s and a B767-300(ER) on flights from Kharkov, Donetsk and Kiev Borispol to leisure destinations in Greece, Egypt, Tunisia, India, Vietnam, Thailand and the Dominican Republic. However, with the onset of the crisis in the east of Ukraine and the associated impact on the country's economy, the carrier has had to scale back operations dramatically.

Last week, Wizz Air (W6, Budapest) announced it would close its Wizz Air Ukraine (WU, Kiev Zhulyany) subsidiary and replace it with a new Kiev base of the Hungarian parent.
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Photo:Ton Jochems - AYT