Italian low-cost carrier Ernest Airlines must halt its flights starting Jan. 13 after Italy’s National Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) suspended its license.
Neither ENAC nor Ernest has announced a clear reason for the suspension. However, the Italian regulator stated that the decision is not related to the safety of the airline’s flights.
The ENAC’s decision threatens some of the most affordable flights connecting Ukraine and Italy. Low-cost airlines provide a critical lifeline to Ukrainian travelers, who can travel visa-free to countries of the European Union, but often cannot afford expensive international flights.
On Dec. 29, Ernest abruptly announced that it would no longer be able to sell tickets for flights departing after Jan. 13, catching many passengers off guard.
The ENAC explained that it set the suspension to come into force on Jan. 13 so as not to inconvenience Ukrainians traveling over the New Year and Christmas holiday.
The regulator based its decision on a European Union regulation that states that a carrier’s operating license can be suspended if there are clear signs of financial trouble within an airline, including insolvency.
“The license can be restored following the demonstration by Ernest S.p.A. to be in possession of the requirements prescribed by the current legislation on the matter and to obtain the revocation of the provision issued by ENAC,” Ernest said in a statement on its website.
However, it remains unclear exactly what aspect of the EU regulation Ernest could have violated.
Rytis Beresnevicius, an author at the AeroHub site, posits that the problem may be technical.
Because the airline still has time to provide the required documents, that “could indicate that the company has not provided its audited accounts for (fiscal year 2019) as indicated in the Regulation’s Article 8(4), which gives a premise for ENAC to suspend Ernest Airlines’ certificate,” he wrote.
Oleksandr Aleksyeyenko, an aviation expert and partner at the Marchenko Danevych law firm in Kyiv, says the issue appears to have nothing to do with Ukraine.
“As a customer, I can say I’m disappointed because I’ve traveled to Italy a few times and the company was providing good service at a fair price,” he told the Kyiv Post.
Now, large companies like Italian flag carrier Alitalia may take over the market, causing ticket prices to increase, Aleksyeyenko said.
Founded in 2015, Ernest Airlines entered the Ukrainian market two years later in October 2017.
The company has some 200 personnel and operates a small fleet of Airbus A320 and A319 jets on routes to destinations in Ukraine, Italy, Spain, France, and Albania, and has 200 personnel in total.
In the statement on its website, Ernest said that it hopes to restore operations as soon as possible.
