Ukraine’s YanAir is grounded over safety concerns

YanAir’s Air Operator’s Certificate is suspended from June 7 (Vasyatka1 // Wikimedia.org)

Ukraine’s State Aviation Service has suspended the Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) of YanAir Airlines after an audit revealed shortcomings in the airline’s operational management, some of which are “critical” the authorities say, and may have a negative impact on flight safety.

The AOC was suspended on June 7, but the regulator emphasises that it will be restored once the outstanding issues are corrected or eliminated.

As a result, YanAir has announced that, during the period of its grounding, all of its flights will be operated by partner carriers. ”We expect to resume operations in the shortest time and [therefore] we are arranging for all of our flights to be operated by our partners for the period of the suspension,” YanAir’s official facebook account reveals.

YanAir operates a number of scheduled and charter flights from Ukraine. Its scheduled route network includes flights from Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa to Batumi in Georgia.

YanAir launched operations in September 2013. Its active AOC (UK 043) was awarded in November 2018 for two years, until November 2020. According to YanAir, its fleet consists of three Boeing 737-400s, two B737-300s, an Airbus A320 and an A321. The average age of the airline’s fleet is 27 years.