The Ukrainian airline Windrose has expanded its fleet with an Airbus A319, which it is now basing in Tel Aviv. The aircraft received the Ukrainian registration UR-WRY, was built in 2002, and operated in Italy until 2024, as reported by Avianews.
The deal was arranged in a “custom-built” manner: the fuselage was provided by Lithuanian company AviaAM Leasing, while the engines came from Australian Smartlynx Australia. As a result, the plane is with Windrose under a dry lease for an unusually short period—until the end of 2025. Dry leases are normally signed for several years rather than months, making this arrangement more of a tactical move than a long-term investment.
According to Flightradar24, the Ukrainian Airbus A319 now operates daily flights from Tel Aviv under contract for the Israeli airline Israir. This comes amid the withdrawal of many European carriers from Israel due to security concerns. Effectively, Windrose is taking advantage of the Israeli market, where demand exceeds supply, as a “temporary side operation.”
Currently, Windrose’s fleet consists of just two aircraft: an Embraer E190 (UR-EMA) and the Airbus A319 (UR-WRY). While the A319 flies in Israel, the UR-EMA operates in Montenegro on behalf of Air Montenegro. Most of the airline’s pre-war fleet remains grounded in Ukraine.
Before February 2022, Windrose specialized in charter flights from Ukraine to foreign resorts and domestic scheduled services. After the Russian invasion, the airline shifted focus to contract flights for other carriers. This “fly where there is demand” model helps the airline survive and generate revenue in a market that has effectively been closed in Ukraine for over three years.
