SkyUp. Photo: Shutterstock SkyUp continues to rapidly expand its scheduled flight operations in Europe and announced today, August 17, 2026, a particularly ambitious summer 2027 program.
The company has opened sales for the next summer season, offering 26 destinations in 11 countries from Chisinau, Moldova, which has become a major base for the company's regular operations in recent years. Among the notable news are two new major European destinations: Vienna and Milan-Bergamo.
This is another stage in the extraordinary development of the airline, which was born in Ukraine and was forced, with the outbreak of war and the ongoing closure of Ukrainian airspace, to reinvent a significant part of its business model.
One of the most notable innovations in the summer 2027 program is the opening of a direct line between Chisinau and Vienna International Airport.
Vienna Airport has already welcomed SkyUp's addition to its network and announced that the company will operate two weekly flights between Vienna and Chisinau starting in the summer of 2027. For the Austrian airport, this strengthens connectivity to Moldova and further expands its network of destinations in Eastern Europe.
Italy is also receiving a new and important destination: SkyUp will fly for the first time as part of the new flight schedule between Chisinau and Milan Bergamo Airport (BGY), one of the main air gateways to the Milan region and northern Italy.
The SkyUp website has already opened the line for reservations as part of the 2027 summer program. (SkyUp Airlines)
But Vienna and Milan are only part of the story.
The new program also includes new routes from Chisinau to Düsseldorf and Nuremberg in Germany, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Pula and Split in Croatia, Batumi and Tbilisi in Georgia, Rhodes, Prague, along with expanding operations to destinations already on the network.
The CEO of SkyUp Airlines explains that the company is significantly expanding its network from Chisinau in the summer of 2027, with an emphasis on direct flights to major capital cities and vacation destinations, with the aim of allowing passengers to reach their destinations without the need for connecting flights.
Milan, Italy. Photo: Shutterstock
Vienna. PassportNews photoSkyUp's story in recent years is unusual in the European aviation landscape.
The brand was founded in Ukraine in 2017 and flight operations began in 2018. With the Russian invasion and the cessation of regular air operations in Ukraine, the company was forced to make a significant change in its operations and look for a model that would allow it to keep the planes, employees, and brand active outside its home country.
In 2023, SkyUp MT Limited received an Air Operator’s License in Malta, allowing the brand to operate within the regulatory framework of the European Union. In 2025, the international presence was expanded through a strategic partnership with a Moldovan airline, and today the brand’s operations include Ukrainian SkyUp Airlines, Maltese SkyUp MT and Moldovan Sky Up Nistru.
In April 2025, the company took another major step and returned to regular operations on a significant scale through a base in Chisinau. SkyUp explained at the time that the choice of the Moldovan capital was due, among other things, to its proximity to the Ukrainian border and the ability to make it a convenient international gateway for Ukrainian citizens.
In the summer of 2026, the company's plan from Chisinau included 15 routes in 8 countries, with SkyUp reporting that the network had grown by approximately 15% compared to the previous summer.
Now, approaching the summer of 2027, the picture is already significantly different: 26 destinations in 11 countries.
The expansion of the route network is part of a much broader operation. According to the company's official data, in 2025 the brand carried more than 3 million passengers, operated almost 20,000 flights and operated at 172 airports in 58 countries as part of its diverse activities.
Alongside scheduled flights, SkyUp also continues to operate in the field of charter flights, ACMI, aircraft leasing including crew, maintenance and insurance, as well as in the field of cargo.
This model allowed the company not only to survive one of the most complex periods an airline can face, but also to turn the crisis into a process of building broad international operations.
SkyUp 2027: Larger Destination Ma
The new summer program from Chisinau will feature, among others:
-Austria: Vienna - new
-Italy: Milan-Bergamo - new
-Germany: Düsseldorf and Nuremberg - new
-France: Paris Charles de Gaulle - new, next to Nice
-Croatia: Split and Pula - new
-Georgia: Batumi and Tbilisi
-Greece: Athens, Corfu, Heraklion, Rhodes, Thessaloniki and Zakynthos
-Spain: Barcelona, Madrid, Alicante and Palma de Mallorca
-Israel: Tel Aviv
-Ireland: Dublin Cyprus
-Cyprus: Larnaca
-Czech Republic: Prague
-Albania: Tirana
-Montenegro: Tivat.
SkyUp notes that in parallel with expanding its destination network, it continues to develop its passenger product, including Priority Line service, seat selection options including seats with increased legroom, the SkyBox menu, and pet transportation services.
For a company that was forced to effectively part ways with its home base of operations in a short period of time and rebuild its operations beyond the borders of Ukraine, the transition from a network of 15 routes in the summer of 2026 to 26 destinations in the summer of 2027 is a significant statement of intent.
Vienna and Milan are two notable additions to the map, but the bigger story is SkyUp itself: a Ukrainian airline that managed to continue operating in the shadow of the war, build a new international base, return to scheduled flights and now continues to expand its European network.