Ukraine’s SkyUp Airlines has received an air operator certificate (AOC) and continuing airworthiness management organization (CAMO) certificate for its Malta-based offshoot, SkyUp MT.

SkyUp Airlines applied for a Maltese AOC in July 2022, as the company changed its business model following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Previously a scheduled operator that began operations in 2018, it switched to charter and ACMI work when it became impossible to operate from its home country.

As Malta is an EU member, the new AOC allows SkyUp MT to operate within the 27-nation bloc and to start regular flights from the EU.

“The SkyUp brand with Ukrainian DNA is international now,” the airline’s co-owner Oleksandr Alba says. “For us, this means opening up new opportunities and scaling the business.”

Alba says the company’s goal is “to show the whole world that Ukrainian brands can compete with European ones and ... to [prove] that a small airline with only 10 aircraft can be visible and set trends in the global aviation industry.”

The airline operates a fleet of Boeing 737-700s and 737-800s. One of its aircraft, believed to be a 737-800, was badly damaged in March at Sudan’s Khartoum International Airport as civil war erupted between factions of the country’s armed forces.

“Ukrainian brand SkyUp, which has changed Ukrainian civil aviation during the five years of operation, is now also available in EU countries, as well,” says Dmytro Seroukhov, SkyUp Airlines CEO and accountable manager at SkyUp MT.

Seroukhov conveyed thanks to Malta’s Civil Aviation Directorate for its “professional approach, openness and the opportunity to fully work in the EU market.”

SkyUp MT has initially registered a single 737-800, a 2011 model that previously operated for the Ukrainian parent company. The aircraft has received registration mark 9H-SAU, together with a new, 189-seat cabin with seats by Geven. SkyUp MT plans to receive more aircraft by year-end. The company says that these will be acquired elsewhere, rather than being transferred from the Ukrainian fleet.