SkyUp Nistru

SkyUp Nistru is a Moldovan low-cost airline based in Chișinău, operating from Chișinău Eugen Doga International Airport. It began flying in 2025 under the name Vision Air and was rebranded as SkyUp Nistru in 2026 after being incorporated into the branding of its Ukrainian parent company, SkyUp Airlines. The name Nistru is taken from the Romanian name for the Dniester River. The airline is part of the SkyUp group, an international brand with Ukrainian roots founded in June 2017 by the Alba family. SkyUp Airlines describes itself as a budget Ukrainian carrier that combines low-cost pricing with services typical of a classic carrier. Before the full-scale war in Ukraine, SkyUp operated a hybrid model mixing scheduled and charter flights; after Ukrainian airspace closed, it shifted operations into Europe, focusing on ACMI contracts, special flights and charters for tour operators, foundations, associations and sports clubs. In 2022 SkyUp Airlines operated 7,713 flights and carried 1.08 million passengers across 204 airports. SkyUp Nistru extends that brand into Moldova, a neighbouring market where the group can base aircraft and sell low-cost seats. The official SkyUp website shows Chișinău as a departure city with routes such as Chișinău–Dublin, Chișinău–Alicante, Chișinău–Barcelona and Chișinău–Larnaca, indicating the Moldovan operation's focus on leisure and diaspora travel to Western and Southern Europe. The airline positions itself as a low-cost carrier, consistent with the SkyUp brand's mission of making aviation more democratic and accessible. As a young carrier, SkyUp Nistru is still building its network and identity. Its corporate history is closely tied to the restructuring of Vision Air into the SkyUp family, and its future development depends on the group's wider European strategy and on demand for affordable air travel from Moldova.

SkyUp Nistru's history begins with Vision Air, a Moldovan low-cost airline based in Chișinău. Vision Air commenced operations from its base at Chișinău Eugen Doga International Airport in 2025. A year later, in 2026, as part of a corporate restructuring, the airline was incorporated into the branding of its Ukrainian parent company, SkyUp Airlines, and took its present name, SkyUp Nistru. The name derives from the Romanian name for the Dniester River. The parent brand, SkyUp Airlines, was founded in June 2017 by the Alba family, whose greatest passion is travel. The brand's mission is to open the world to Ukrainians and Ukraine to the world. SkyUp positioned itself as a bold innovator making Ukrainian aviation more democratic and open, offering classic-carrier services at low-cost prices. It developed its route network and opened new domestic and international destinations. It also introduced comfortable uniforms for flight attendants, replacing heels and skirt suits with sneakers and trouser suits, and was the first in Ukraine to equip its aircraft with Split Scimitar® winglets to save fuel and improve aerodynamics. SkyUp's first flight took place on 21 May 2018. In a little over a year the brand entered the top ten most dynamic European airlines according to the Anker Report; in 2021 it won first place in the "Heart of the Aviation Space" nomination at the Ukraine Tourism Awards; and in 2022 it became the second-largest Ukrainian airline by traffic volume and entered the international market. SkyUp CEO Dmytro Seroukhov was recognized in 2022 as the most effective manager in the European aviation services market by the professional publication aeroTELEGRAPH. Before the full-scale war in Ukraine, SkyUp operated a hybrid model combining scheduled and charter flights. With the closure of Ukrainian airspace, SkyUp began operating in Europe, focusing on ACMI contracts, special flights and charter flights ordered by tour operators, foundations, associations and sports clubs. In 2022 SkyUp Airlines operated 7,713 flights and carried 1.08 million passengers across 204 airports. SkyUp Nistru thus represents the extension of the SkyUp brand into Moldova, building on the group's post-2022 European expansion. The Moldovan carrier operates from Chișinău, with the official SkyUp website listing routes such as Chișinău–Dublin, Chișinău–Alicante, Chișinău–Barcelona and Chișinău–Larnaca. As a young airline, its network and fleet are still developing within the wider SkyUp group strategy.

• 2026

  Vision Air is incorporated into SkyUp Airlines branding and renamed SkyUp Nistru.

• 2025

  Vision Air commences operations from Chișinău Eugen Doga International Airport.

• 2022

  SkyUp Airlines operates 7,713 flights and carries 1.08 million passengers across 204 airports.

• 2018

  SkyUp Airlines operates its first flight on 21 May.

• 2017

  SkyUp Airlines founded in June by the Alba family.

Low-cost carrier within the SkyUp group, targeting leisure and diaspora travel from Moldova to Europe.

• Low-cost scheduled passenger flights

• Charter flights

• ACMI contracts

1. 1SkyUp Airlines – бюджетна українська авіакомпанія, доступні авіаквитки онлайнskyup.aero
2. 2Про компанію - SkyUp Airlinesskyup.aero
3. 3SkyUp Nistruen.wikipedia.org
4. 4Wikidata Q139997417wikidata.org