Ukraine International suspended scheduled flights
Tuesday, March 17, Ukraine International suspended scheduled operations across its entire route network to comply with the decree of the President of Ukraine and the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to temporarily suspend the crossing of the state border aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 on the territory of Ukraine.
March 17, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine "On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine aimed at preventing the occurrence and spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)". The Law prescribes criminal responsibility for non-compliance with disease control and prevention measures during the quarantine period.
As a responsible carrier, Ukraine International canceled over 2,000 scheduled flights within the period of March 17 - April 3, 2020 (until further notice).
To carry home as many Ukrainian citizens as the technical capability permitted, on March 17, Ukraine International scheduled and operated 11 additional international flights.
The UIA terminative scheduled flight arrived from New York and landed in Kyiv at 4:01 pm local time on March 17. With that, Ukraine International's scheduled flight program is suspended until quarantine measures in Ukraine are lifted. All scheduled flights are removed from schedule over the period fixed by the Government; ticket sales for these flights are terminated.
The airline is well aware of the inconveniences this causes passengers of canceled flights. If force-majeure circumstances (formalized in Ukraine's legislation on March 17, 2020) had not occurred, Ukraine International would have never suspended flights.
To address the consequences of cancellations, Ukraine International actively engages with passengers and offers them alternate solutions ranging from rebooking for a later date to a full ticket refund.
To carry tourists back to Ukraine, inbound charter flights will be operated per contracts with tourist agencies and all sanitation measures.
On March 17, the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine issued the NOTAM. Notably, as an exception, carriers are permitted to operate flights to carry persons traveling with the purpose of ensuring the protection of national interests and complying with international obligations; to carry Ukrainian citizens home and fly foreign citizens out of the country; as well as to carry representatives of diplomatic and humanitarian missions.
In this regard, to organize inbound flights to carry Ukrainians home, Ukraine International actively interacts with diplomatic missions of Ukraine internationally. The airline is capable of mobilizing within short timeframes and operating task-orientated flights at the request of the Government of Ukraine.