Dubai: Flydubai said on Sunday it is continuing to operate flights to Ukraine just days after the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.
The shooting down of the commercial passenger jet has raised safety fears among a number of airlines, including Emirates and Air Arabia, who immediately suspended services to Ukraine on Thursday.
“Our flights to Kiev and Odessa are currently operating to schedule. Our flights to Kharkiv have been cancelled until further notice. We will continue to monitor the situation and follow the operating instructions issued by the relevant authorities,” a flydubai spokesperson told Gulf News in an emailed statement.
The airline’s services to Donetsk remain suspended.
The discount carrier flies four times a week to Kiev, located in the north central part of the country, and twice weekly to Odessa in the south along the Black Sea. Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down on July 17 over the eastern part of Ukraine near the Russian border.
GCAA directive
Flydubai did, however, cancel its Friday Dubai-Kiev service last week. The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) issued a directive the same day banning all UAE airlines from flying to Ukraine. The directive has since been altered to permit flights to Kiev and Odessa. Flydubai resumed flights to Ukraine on Saturday, two days after MH17 was shot down.
Other airlines have moved to highlight they do not fly over areas of Ukrainian airspace including Etihad Airways and India’s Jet Airways, both issuing statements over the weekend.
