Ukrainian airline SkyUp from March 2, 2019, will launch flights from Kharkiv to Sharjah (the United Arab Emirates), Kharkiv International Airport has said.

Flights will be carried out by a Boeing 737-700 every Saturday, departures from Kharkiv will be 10:30 a.m. local time and from Sharjah Airport at 18:40 local time. The price of a single ticket starts from UAH 3,999 (about $150).

"We see a great potential of the region, so in 2019 we are expanding our cooperation. Now we are opening a seasonal regular flight between Kharkiv and Sharjah (the UAE), and after repairs at the Dubai airport, we plan to launch a flight en route Kharkiv – Dubai (the UAE) – Kharkiv," SkyUp CEO Yevhen Khainatsky is quoted as saying.

He also noted that the main goal of the airline is to make air travel as affordable for Ukrainians as possible.

"The resumption of air services with the United Arab Emirates is long awaited by us, as we have been actively working on this issue since 2014. The UAE is one of the most popular tourist and business areas in the world. We are pleased that since March, passengers of our airport will be able to fly comfortably to the UAE by direct flights," Director General of New Systems AM, the airport's operator, Volodymyr Vasylchenko said.

Kharkiv-Sharjah flights are already the second new destination after Odesa, which is being launched by the airline from Kharkiv Airport in 2019, he said.