The airline SkyUp Malta, which is in the process of being founded, is currently benefiting greatly from Air Malta's unclear future, as numerous executives of the flag carrier are hiring at the start-up.

In the meantime, it has also been decided which machine will be registered first on the future Maltese AOC. It is the current UR-SQM. This Boeing 737-800 was registered to the existing Ukrainian airline only in August 2022. The leased aircraft was originally delivered to Flydubai and is just over eleven years old.

In the next few weeks, the UR-SQM is to be included in the Maltese aviation register SkyUp Malta be re-registered. It is currently not foreseeable when the Civil Aviation Authority will grant the start-up AOC and operating license. The company assumes that the first flight can be carried out at the end of November or beginning of December 2022.

Also planned transatlantic flights

Initially, it will specialize in providing ACMI and charter services. From the summer flight schedule of 2023, the company also wants to offer scheduled flights on its own account. SkyUp Malta's business plan even provides for the inclusion of long-haul flights on transatlantic routes. However, no further details are given about the machine type or specific routes.

According to the current state of information, the long-haul project should start in 2024 at the earliest, since in the coming year the focus is on building the short and medium-haul network from EU airports and on deepening ACMI and charter orders. As a time frame for the TATL activities, those responsible currently have “in three years at the latest” in mind. In the summer of 2023, SkyUp Malta wants to be in the air with 19 Boeing 737 series aircraft. This is partly at the expense of the Ukrainian AOCs, since they only want to keep one aircraft in the UR register due to the war. All other aircraft are new additions, sourced through various lessors. Some machines are new, others used.

SkyUp Malta should enable the group to establish itself permanently in the European Union. This would not be possible with the Ukrainian AOC. After the end of the war in the Ukraine, the intention is to quickly ramp up the offer of the local airline again and then be active pan-European with both Maltese and Ukrainian AOC. Malta is currently benefiting from the fact that many executives are leaving Air Malta because the future of the flag carrier is unclear. In this way, SkyUp Malta can quickly get the local staff it needs to set up the new airline. In the meantime, the radio call sign has already been set: Sky Malta.