Romania's HiSky obtains licence for flights to Canada

HiSky thus becomes the only airline in Romania taking steps towards launching flights to Canada, the company said in a press release. Currently, Romanian passengers have no direct flight options to Canada, following the suspension in 2020 of the Bucharest-Toronto route that was operated by a foreign company.

HiSky said it has the necessary capability to operate a non-stop long-haul route to Canada with an Airbus 330-200 aircraft.

"When we added an aircraft with increased range to our fleet, we specifically aimed to establish these efficient connections between Romania and the most demanded destinations by our passengers. We are extremely close to the first direct flight from Bucharest to New York after more than 20 years, and the news of obtaining the licence for flights to Canada supports our strategy to increase the number of long-haul routes," HiSky CEO Iulian Scorpan said.

Scorpan added that the company is planning to launch the first routes from Bucharest to Canada's most popular cities as soon as possible in order to meet the needs of the large Romanian diaspora there.

Last year, HiSky received clearance to operate flights to and from the United States. It will start round-trip flights to New York’s JFK airport from the Henri Coanda International Airport in Bucharest on June 7.

HiSky was established in 2020 and operates international flights from the Romanian cities of Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, and Baia Mare and Moldova's capital Chisinau.