The airline Air Moldova has not been in the air for several months. Now the Civil Aviation Authority of the Republic of Moldova has suspended AOC and operating licenses until at least the end of October 2023. This does not currently entitle you to operate commercial flights.

Air Moldova's finances had been desolate for a long time. In April 2023, flight operations had to be suspended for a few days before insolvency or bankruptcy protection had to be applied for at the beginning of May 2023. Since then, no more commercial flights have been operated, but the AOC and operating license were still valid.

However, local law stipulates that you must have at least one aircraft with a valid certificate of airworthiness. This is no longer the case with Air Moldova, as the last aircraft has been undergoing maintenance since the end of April 2023. The work is suspended for financial reasons. In the meantime, the airworthiness certificate has also expired, because it had August 21, 2023 as the deadline.

This now has further consequences for Air Moldova, because the law of the Republic of Moldova stipulates that you must have at least one aircraft with a valid certificate in order to be in possession of the AOC and operating license. In order to forestall the cancellation of the documents, the management has applied to the Civil Aviation Authority for a period of suspension.

This request was approved. The consequence of this is: Up to and including October 31, 2023, Air Moldova is no longer formally an airline and is therefore not allowed to operate any commercial flights. Provided that all requirements are met, the documents can be reactivated or the dormant status could be extended. Unless the company takes appropriate steps, the civil aviation authority of the Republic of Moldova can finally withdraw the AOC and operating license as of October 31, 2023.

In a statement, the office expressly points out that passengers who are affected by the carrier's flight cancellations should submit their claims as soon as possible. However, there is no assessment as to whether Air Moldova could take off again or not.