Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

Ukraine International Airlines on Friday operated its first ever transatlantic flight—a nonstop trip with a Boeing 767 from Kiev to New York—some seven months after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration reinstated Ukraine’s Category 1 status under its International Safety Assessment Program (IASA). UIA now flies a single round trip each day between Kiev Boryspil International Airport and New York JFK Airport.


Ukraine earned a Category 2 rating in 2005, when the FAA determined that the Ukrainian civil aviation authority showed deficiencies in at least one of several areas, including technical expertise, trained personnel, record keeping or inspection procedures. The FAA reinstated Ukraine’s Category 1 status following a review of the Ukrainian authority last July in which the U.S. agency found it had satisfied the requirements of a so-called action plan.


The introduction of transatlantic flights by UIA comes as the carrier continues its <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2014-03-12/ukraine-carrier-ordered-stop-crimea-flights">suspension of all flights to and from Simferopol in Crimea</a>. UIA has canceled all flights between Kiev and Simferopol until June 26 “due to flight operation restrictions beyond [its] control.” On March 12 UIA ceased flights between the two cities after receiving written instructions from Simferopol International Airport that it must suspend services at least until March 18. At the time a UIA spokesperson told AIN that the airport had banned all flights except for those to and from Russia, which now controls the airspace over Crimea. Only Russian carriers now fly into and out of the region.

Ukraine Airlines Launches First Service to U.S.

Ukraine International Airlines now flies transatlantic service between Kiev and New York.

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