SkyUp Airlines (PQ, Kyiv Boryspil) has announced it will launch six new routes between Ukraine and Italy this spring, aiming to fill the service void which has been left following the demise of Ernest Airlines (Milan Malpensa), on January 13.

From March 29, the Ukrainian carrier will commence 3x weekly flights from Kyiv Boryspil to Bologna, Rome Fiumicino and Milan Bergamo. On the same day, SkyUp will start a 3x weekly route between Lviv and Fiumicino. On March 30, the airline will open flights from Lviv to Bergamo and Naples Capodichino, both with a 2x weekly frequency.

Although not previously operated by Ernest, later in the summer, SkyUp will link Kiev (2x weekly from May 30), Kharkiv (1x weekly from June 1), and Odesa (1x weekly from June 3) with Lamezia Terme in Italy.

According to the airline's website, this summer it will now offer 14 destinations from Kharkiv, 32 from Boryspil, eight from Zaporizhzhia, and 12 from Lviv.

SkyUp operates a fleet of 12 aircraft, split between two B737-700s, six B737-800s, and four B737-900(ER)s, although two of the latter type have not yet been inducted into its active fleet yet.

The route network plans from SkyUp follow swiftly after Wizz Air (W6, Budapest) announced it would also start servicing ex-Ernest routes out of Tirana to five Italian cities, namely:

  • Bergamo daily from March 29);
  • Pisa (3x weekly from March 31);
  • Bologna (4x weekly from May 1);
  • Verona (4x weekly from May 1);
  • Venice Treviso (3x weekly from August 1).