A bankruptcy petition was filed against the airline Ukraine International Airlines by the state-owned Ukreximbank. It was previously announced that the company's assets had gone under the hammer. The carrier's financial situation was already tense before Russia's military attack against Ukraine. 

Ukraine International Airlines is not a state-owned company, but a private airline. The company is often incorrectly referred to as a state carrier, but it is not. Swissair and Austrian Airlines were also involved in UIA for several years. The AUA dissolved its holding shortly after it was taken over by Lufthansa. What remains, however, is a codeshare cooperation that is no longer important due to the war because Ukraine's airspace is closed anyway. 

Even before the corona pandemic, Ukraine International Airlines was in trouble. The background is that there has been increasing competition from low-cost airlines at home and abroad. Following the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, once profitable Russian routes have also been lost. But UIA managed to stay in the air. We have also survived the corona crisis. 

The government of Ukraine planned to launch a new state-owned airline before and during the pandemic. If possible, this should fly with aircraft manufactured in Ukraine. It was intended that the new company would take over UIA's former role. Whether this plan would have been successful remains to be seen. However, this question does not currently arise because the plans for the new national airline are on hold due to the war and Ukraine International Airlines was declared bankrupt by the competent court in Kiev at the request of the state-owned Ukreximbank. 

For Ukrainian carriers, the war also means that the entire core market cannot be served for security reasons. While its competitor Skyup Airlines has found an emergency foothold in the wet lease business - within the EU with special permits - and was even able to set up an EU branch based in Malta with Skyup MT, Ukraine International Airlines was not as successful. Although there were isolated ACMI orders, it was not possible to stay afloat in the long term. Added to this is the high mountain of debt from the past. 

The auctions, ordered in recent weeks at the request of creditors, were already a harbinger that UIA could become the first Ukrainian airline to go bankrupt during the war. The state-owned Ukreximbank submitted the corresponding application to the court and the company has since been declared bankrupt. Recycling is already in full swing. Okeanos LLC has already secured trademark rights and unspecified parts of the former ground handling. 

It remains to be seen what will happen to other Ukrainian airlines. Some were able to secure contracts outside their home country, while others have been grounded since the war began. It is highly likely that no matter how the war ends, one or the other provider will no longer take off.