Kyrgyz Crackdown Grounds Notorious Cargo Airlines Linked to Arms Flights to Africa

Notorious Kyrgyz cargo carriers New Way Cargo Airlines, Fly Sky Airlines, Skyline Airlines and Sky Jet have lost their operating licences after an audit by the Kyrgyz authorities.

Two of these airlines, which reportedly flew weapons to several African countries on behalf of the government of the United Arab Emirates, lost their Air Operator Certificates (AOCs) in early February 2026. This is evident from information published by the Kyrgyz Civil Aviation Authority.

The revocations were the result of an extensive audit of existing certificates. The review was launched in late 2024 at the initiative of Sadyr Japarov as part of a broader government effort to remove Kyrgyzstan’s civil aviation sector from the European Union’s aviation “black list.” The immediate catalyst for the crackdown was the downing of an Ilyushin Il-76TD transport aircraft, formerly registered in Kyrgyzstan, which was shot down over Sudan.

The combined fleet of the grounded carriers consisted of around 18 aircraft, of which 10 IL-76s

The affected Il-76 aircraft of Fly Sky Airlines were registrations EX-76003, EX-76006, EX-76017, and EX-76018.

New Way Cargo operated aircraft registered EX-76010, EX-76015, EX-76019, EX-76020, EX-76027, EX-76028

Skyline Airlines EX-76012 was also involved.

EX-76019 became 7Q-ASU of Zebu Air
EX-76020 became 7Q-ASJ of Zebu Air
Probably some of the Lesotho , Invicta Air Cargo TL- (Chad) registered IL76’s are former Fly Sky and New Way Cargo aircraft.

What happened to the aircraft is unknown. Some were likely registered in African countries.

The serial numbers of these aircraft can be found via an archived version of the Kyrgyz Civil Aviation Authority fleet register.

On 10 March 2026, the AOC of Sky Jet LLC was also revoked. The airline operated an Airbus A300B4-203 Freighter EX-30004 (serial number 126). The aircraft was owned by Abu Dhabi-based Ardent Air Holdings Ltd and is now owned by Uganda Air Cargo International Ltd.

The aircraft has been removed from the Kyrgyz register and is now registered as AF525 (ICAO hex code 601105), a military registration of the Uganda Air Force. The aircraft appears to be based at Entebbe International Airport, but it is no longer trackable on Flightradar24. The last flights recorded by ADS-B Exchange were observed in April 2026. It then changed to an Uganda ICAO hex code of 0687d0

Last tracked flight was June 3, 2026.

Thanks to Rich Tedd ( @afrimeosint on X)for the info on the A300.