Ukraine Air, grounded by war, finds new role flying Poles to Mediterranean

Ukraine International Airlines, which stopped operations in late February when Russia began its invasion, has agreed to fly charters from Polish cities to holiday destinations in Spain, Egypt, Tunisia, Albania and Turkey. UIA said on Thursday that it will service daily flights for Polish tour operator Itaka from Katowice, Warsaw, Krakow and Rzeszow to destinations around the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Canary Islands. It will base an extended range Boeing Co. 737-900 narrow-body plane in Katowice, manned by four Ukrainian crews. UIA and Itaka will analyze possibilities to add more destinations and extend their cooperation until the end of the high tourist season, according to the statement. The Ukrainian carrier grounded all regular and charter flights when Russia invaded. In May, it leased one of its jets to Latvian carrier Air Baltic Corp AS.<br/>