The work of international and Ukrainian airlines in the country’s airspace may be blocked, and leased aircraft may be taken abroad.

According to media sources, insurance companies are preparing to withdraw guarantees for flights over Ukraine / photo ua. 

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At the beginning of next week, a number of major international insurers may refuse to cover insured events of airlines when flying in the airspace of Ukraine. Such a development of events may mean the actual stop of flights of foreign airlines to the country, as well as threaten blocking of Ukrainian carriers.

About this with reference to several sources writes ” Strana “.

According to one of the interlocutors associated with the European aviation market, the corresponding “first bell” sounded on the eve of the new year, when the lessor – a European company – demanded the withdrawal of two aircraft of the Ukrainian air carrier from Ukraine.

“Then it was not yet completely clear what this was connected with. There were rumors that, they say, we are talking about the problems of a particular carrier, he is tight with money and it’s not a fact that he can pay, so the insurers advised the owner of the boards to take them to Europe “But since January, such precedents have been repeated for other airlines. International insurers have become increasingly insistent that the aircraft of foreign carriers that they serve do not stay parked in Kiev. The decision to not cover the risks for flights over Ukraine has matured for a long time. And the appearance specific date of “Putin’s attack” only accelerated it,” the source said.

Such a development of events may mean a virtual halt in flights of foreign airlines to Ukraine – and not only foreign ones, the interlocutor believes.

“Aircraft insurance is complex and expensive, as a rule, they are provided not by one company, but by several. For example, a Ukrainian air carrier may have insurance from a Ukrainian insurance company, but always with reinsurance in London. If they give the command to curtail, there will be no guarantees and for Ukrainian carriers, as well as Wizz Air, which has five aircraft in Ukraine, is at great risk, which means that the work of Ukrainian airlines will be blocked. Ukraine in the near future,” the source said.

As explained by the head of the consulting agency Friendly Avia Support Oleksandr Lanetskiy, most of the boards of both Ukrainian and foreign airlines are not their property, but are taken on an operational lease. The lessor, in turn, requires insurance in the amount of the cost of the aircraft plus 10% (from 10 to 100 million dollars) to cover possible risks. In addition, according to international law, the airline is obliged to insure civil liability: for the European market, such insurance costs $550 million a year.

“Without the latter, it is simply impossible to lift planes into the sky. If it is not provided, the airline has no right to fly,” Lanetsky said.

Thus, the absence of insurance guarantees may mean a complete halt of air travel in Ukraine.

According to a source from the insurance market, the largest British insurance companies, which reinsure other insurers, on February 12 already sent out an official letter to all owners of aircraft that lease them to airlines, stating that insurance coverage in Ukraine and over Ukraine ceases to operate in 48 hours for any aircraft. The interlocutor believes that the British insurers are actually introducing an “air blockade”.

“Not a single plane will take off from Ukraine and will not fly into Ukraine from about the middle of the day on Monday,” the source says.

In addition, private jet owners reported receiving notifications that insurance guarantees would be withdrawn within 48 hours, and their aircraft should leave Ukraine during this time and move to the European zone.

In turn, the head of the Insurance Business Association, Vyacheslav Chernyakhovsky, at first said that he knew nothing about the plans of international insurance companies in Ukraine, but then added that they could indeed withdraw guarantees.

“After KLM’s statement about the termination of work in Ukraine and the mass recall of embassy workers, the insurance market became nervous. Foreign reinsurers can leave the decision on guarantees to insurers, but they are unlikely to take such responsibility. And airlines are unlikely to risk passengers and aircraft. Therefore, we will literally see an empty sky – neither foreign nor Ukrainian carriers will fly,” Chernyakhovsky believes.

(C)UNIAN 2022