Ukraine International Airlines

Ukraine International Airlines, or UIA, used to be Ukraine's flag carrier. The head office was in Kyiv, with the main hub at Boryspil Airport (KBP).

UIA flew its last scheduled services on 24 February 2022, when Ukrainian airspace shut down to civilian traffic. Nothing has restarted. On 22 November 2023 the Commercial Court of Kyiv opened bankruptcy proceedings against UIA (case 910/16870/23). For the current stage of the case, see the Ukrainian court register or the official company record. UIA is not selling tickets. The airline is not flying.

The airline started in 1992. The Ukrainian State Association of Civil Aviation established it together with GPA, then the world's largest aircraft lessor. For many years it served as the country's primary scheduled passenger airline.

UIA earned credentials as the first CIS carrier on the IOSA registry following an IATA operational safety audit. It was the 51st airline to achieve this status, joining KLM, Lufthansa, Austrian, TAP and SAS on that list. This reflected the airline's safety standards during its operating years. It doesn't tell us anything about its current status.

Before the invasion, UIA carried passengers and cargo throughout Ukraine and across to Europe, the Middle East, the United States, Canada and Asia. The busy routes out of Kyiv went to Toronto, Montreal, Cairo, Munich, Milan, Nice, Yerevan, Delhi, Dubai, Barcelona, Athens, Paris, Prague, London, Istanbul, Larnaca, Tbilisi and Tashkent. Odesa connected to Istanbul. In those years the airline operated more than 1000 flights per week.

When the airspace closed, the airline lost its home market. Leases and bank debt fell due. Ukreximbank pursued the company over more than 20 billion hryvnia owed. The Commercial Court placed UIA into bankruptcy administration in November 2023.

Travelers to and from Ukraine now must use road or rail to reach foreign airports first.