HiSky, the airline founded in the Republic of Moldova by Iulian Scorpan, the former CEO of Air Moldova, announced on Saturday that it has successfully completed the first of three stages required for the authorization procedure to operate flights from Romania to the United States. The last direct flight between Romania and the USA took place 20 years ago.

Most likely, only one refueling stop in western or northern Europe will be needed, and the flight may take around 10 hours in total.

In November 2003, under the government of Adrian Nestase, the state-owned Tarom airline abandoned these transoceanic routes, News.ro reports.

“HiSky Airline has successfully completed the first of three stages required by the authorization procedure to operate flights in the United States of America. Once the process is completed and a Foreign Air Operator’s Permit issued by the US Department of Transportation is obtained, HiSky will be able to operate scheduled and charter flights abroad, departing from any airport in Europe. Given the results of the steps taken, it is possible that approval will be granted earlier than originally reported, the airline estimates at the moment approximately two months before the announcement of the first transatlantic flights,” the company said. .

HiSky Airlines, founded three years ago in the Republic of Moldova by Iulian Scorpan, the former CEO of Air Moldova, started operating its first flights from the company’s new operational base, Henri Coanda Airport in Bucharest, in May 2022.

The first private airline to introduce direct flights from Romania to the USA

“We are very close to achieving this new goal in our development, after the first million passengers, the first newly registered A321 aircraft in Romania, obtaining the status of the main charter operator and no less than 22 successfully implemented routes from Romania and the Republic. Moldova. If everything goes as we expect, we will open the first routes to the USA by the end of summer. It is not easy for a newly established airline to win the trust of passengers. However, I believe that in the last two years we have done everything right, so that today we have managed to have a significant market share in the areas where we operate. In this context, we are confident that obtaining a permit for transatlantic flights is an important step in strengthening our legitimacy in the regional market,” says Julian Skorpan, CEO of HiSky.

Flights to the US have become an integral part of HiSky’s strategy with the introduction of two Airbus A321neo aircraft into the fleet earlier this year. This type of aircraft offers the highest flight autonomy in its class – up to 7,400 kilometers. The new facility allows the airline to operate international flights with one refueling in Western Europe. Thus, HiSky will become the first private airline to introduce direct flights from Romania to the USA.

In addition, in the context of the liberalization of the air transport market, as a result of the signing in May of the “Open Skies” agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the USA, citizens of Moldova will be able to fly directly from Chisinau to the United States for the first time in history.

HiSky was founded in 2020 and operates direct international flights from Romania from Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Iași and Baia Mare airports to Barcelona, ​​Málaga, Tel Aviv, Brussels, Paris and Dublin. From the Republic of Moldova, passengers can travel with HiSky to eight foreign destinations: Milan, Paris, Dublin, Frankfurt, Tel Aviv, Rome, Bologna and Venice. At the same time, thanks to cooperation with major travel agencies, the airline has become the most important operator of charter flights to vacation destinations in Europe, Asia, and Africa over the past year.