Most recently, Ukrainian Wings used two Boeing 737-500s and one Boeing 767-300ER for Afghanistan's Kam Air. After the Talibans came to power in Afghanistan, Aviation.direct raised the question of what to do with Ukrainian Wings.

The images that went around the world from Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport in Khwaja Rawash are dramatic. The orange-blue aircraft of the largest Afghan airline, Kam Air, can be seen again and again on videos on social media. Pictures of a parked Boeing 767 in full Kam Air colors have also appeared. Possibly this is a Boeing 767-300ER with the Ukrainian registration UR-CSX, which is operated by Ukrainian Wings for Kam Air. In addition to this wide-bodied aircraft, Ukrainian Wings also operates two small Boeing 737-500s (UR-BAA / UR-UWW) for the Afghan airline.

What does the coup in Afghanistan mean for the Ukrainian airline? Unfortunately, more inquiries from Aviation.direct went unanswered by Ukrainian Wings. So we can only speculate, but don't want to disregard the facts.

• The B767-300ER (UR-CSX, msn 25534/477, born 1993) was last seen on July 13, 2021 on flight UWJ8002 en route to Kiev Boryspil tracked. Due to the flight number, it should have been a so-called ferry flight. We assume that the aircraft is still on the ground in Kiev and that the B767 mentioned above is a different machine (possibly the ex. Kam Air B767-200 YA-KAM). The UR-CSX is owned by Came Aviation FZC from Sharjah / Sharjah (UAE), a company which (like Kam Air) should belong to the Kam Group of Companies.
• The B737-500 (UR-BAA, msn 28052/2965, born 1997) was transferred from Kabul (via Tbilisi) to Kiev Boryspil flown out as UWJ8001. Only a month before that (on July 15, 2021), this aircraft rejoined the Ukrainian Wings fleet, before that it flew for three years on the AOC of Kam Air itself (as YA-KMS), but was previously part of Ukrainian Wings Fleet. It is owned by Kam Air.
• When exactly B737-500 (UR-UWW, msn 25182/2211, year 1992) flew for the last time, eludes our information. Unlike the other two planes here is Aftrans Aero DMCC from Dubai (UAE) the owner. Aftrans owns further B737s and an A340, which are used by different airlines.

Aviation.direct believes that the current contract / order of Kam Air is no longer being complied with or has been terminated entirely. However, Kam Air is in talks with the new Taliban-controlled government in order to be able to resume domestic and international flights as soon as possible. We doubt whether the service of the Ukrainian airline will be used.

With the UR-UWW, Ukrainian Wings could work for third parties in the ACMI area. The other two aircraft should not be eligible for this due to the ownership. In the case of the UR-CSX and UR-BAA, a deletion in the Ukrainian register will soon also appear possible.

We cannot say whether Ukrainian Wings is even open to new business activities. There is a small chance that ACMI operations can be performed for third parties. The airline, founded in 2016, has EASA certification, but lacks IOSA accreditation from IATA.

By the way, it is not the first time that Ukrainian Wings has had to withdraw from Afghanistan. 20 people died in an attack on the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul on January 2018, 40. These included four crew members from the Ukrainian Wings. As a result, the CEO Volodymyr Kostenko withdrew all of his employees from Afghanistan at short notice.