The airline that sold tickets before it had a license

Countries & Cities · Published 16 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Imagine booking a flight with a company that technically doesn't exist yet. In 2020, HiSky was already selling seats online while aviation authorities investigated them for serious regulatory irregularities. It is a case study in the high-stakes gamble of low-cost aviation.

Established during 2019, HiSky became a budget aviation group from Moldova led by Victor Sula, a money expert, and Iulian Scorpan, who previously managed Air Moldova as a pilot and director. The group operates through two distinct entities: HiSky SRL, based in Chișinău, and its Romanian affiliate, HiSky Europe SRL, which was established in 2020 and is jointly owned by Scorpan and Tatiana Mihailiuc.

The airline's early history was marked by significant regulatory friction. In February 2020, Moldovan aviation authorities revealed that HiSky had failed to receive an air operator's certificate due to irregularities. A primary issue involved Cobrex Trans, the carrier intended to operate Airbus A320 aircraft for HiSky; at the time of the investigation, Cobrex did not actually have that specific aircraft type in its fleet. Despite these hurdles and a lack of commercial licensing as of May 12, 2020, the company continued to sell tickets on its website.

Following setbacks from the COVID-19 crisis, the firm gained its Moldovan licence on 19 February 2021, having first received Romanian authorisation in December 2020. It launched its first commercial flight on March 5, 2021, connecting Chișinău to Hurghada, Egypt. Since then, the group has scaled rapidly, expanding into a network that includes major European hubs like Paris Beauvais and Frankfurt.

The airline recently achieved a significant milestone in regional connectivity. An Airbus A330 was deployed by HiSky Europe to start a non-stop route connecting New York JFK and Bucharest during June 2024. This marked the first direct flight between Romania and the United States in 21 years, following the discontinuation of the route by TAROM in 2003.

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