Supernova Airlines (P7, Kyiv Boryspil) launched operations on May 19, 2023, using an ATR72-500(F) chartered from Latvia's RAF-Avia (MTL, Riga).

YL-RAK (msn 499) operated the inaugural flight from Riga to Rzeszow Jasionka in Poland and return. But while the 26-year-old converted freighter has been repainted into the livery of Supernova's parent company, logistics firm Nova Post, it flew under RAF-Avia's 'MTL' code.

The airline plans to operate the Riga-Rzeszow route 2x weekly. Cargo will be taken from Rzeszow to Ukraine on trucks.

"This is a medium-term partnership, approximately until October," Nova Post spokesperson Olga Baburina told ch-aviation.

Supernova Airlines certified earlier this year and plans to operate on behalf of its parent company, initially out of Rzeszow, a Polish airport located near the Ukrainian frontier.

Supernova Airlines' in-house fleet comprises two An-26s, including one still stranded in Ukraine. Baburina said that the two Antonov Design Bureau were still undergoing certification in Europe.