{"id":200579,"date":"2025-04-23T12:07:01","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T12:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/airline\/a-welcome-sign-calibration-flights-over-western-ukraine\/"},"modified":"2025-04-23T12:07:01","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T12:07:01","slug":"a-welcome-sign-calibration-flights-over-western-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579","title":{"rendered":"A WELCOME sign: calibration flights over western Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

On 21 April 2025, an aircraft using the call sign WELCOME was spotted in the skies above Lviv, Ukraine. Unidentified in the Flightradar24 database at the time and operating between 5,000 and 10,000 feet, speculation grew about the identity of the aircraft and the nature of the flight.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n

What we know<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

Based on visual evidence from planespotters in the area and statements by the Ukrainian Air Force<\/a>, we now know that the aircraft is a Ukrainian Air Force Antonov AN-26, similar to the aircraft pictured below.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
A Ukraine Air Force AN-26 similar to the one spotted near Lviv this week. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

What we think we know<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

Based on the flight paths from 21 and 22 April, we believe these to be navigation aid test and calibration flights. These types of flights are commonly used to ensure the accuracy of ground based navigation aids, like VOR\/DME beacons or Instrument Landing Systems.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSee WELCOME flight playback <\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

An aircraft with the same WELCOME call sign also operated similar flights in and around Kyiv in late November-early December 2021. The plot of those flights is shown below.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

What we don\u2019t know<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n

We don\u2019t know if these flights might herald the reopening of Lviv International Airport. In mid-March, the director of the airport spoke optimistically<\/a> about a possible reopening by May. Multiple airlines, including Wizz Air, Air Baltic, Ryanair, SkyUp, LOT, and Lufthansa Group airlines have expressed interest in returning to Ukraine when it is possible to do so.<\/p>\n

We also don\u2019t know if more flights are planned for this week or in the future. You can keep your eyes on the skies near Lviv or set an alert for the call sign WELCOME.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n

The post A WELCOME sign: calibration flights over western Ukraine<\/a> appeared first on Flightradar24 Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On 21 April 2025, an aircraft using the call sign WELCOME was spotted in the skies above Lviv, Ukraine. Unidentified in the Flightradar24 database at the time and operating between 5,000 and 10,000 feet, speculation grew about the identity of the aircraft and the nature of the flight. What we know Based on visual evidence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":200580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12028],"tags":[77192,13135,689,3729,3209],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-200579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-airline","tag-calibration","tag-flights","tag-sign","tag-ukraine","tag-western"],"yoast_head":"\nA WELCOME sign: calibration flights over western Ukraine - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A WELCOME sign: calibration flights over western Ukraine - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On 21 April 2025, an aircraft using the call sign WELCOME was spotted in the skies above Lviv, Ukraine. Unidentified in the Flightradar24 database at the time and operating between 5,000 and 10,000 feet, speculation grew about the identity of the aircraft and the nature of the flight. What we know Based on visual evidence […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-23T12:07:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ukraine-An-26-Calibration-Cover.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1678\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"991\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"A WELCOME sign: calibration flights over western Ukraine\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-23T12:07:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579\"},\"wordCount\":300,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ukraine-An-26-Calibration-Cover.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"calibration\",\"flights\",\"Sign\",\"ukraine\",\"Western\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Airline\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579\",\"name\":\"A WELCOME sign: calibration flights over western Ukraine - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ukraine-An-26-Calibration-Cover.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-23T12:07:01+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ukraine-An-26-Calibration-Cover.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ukraine-An-26-Calibration-Cover.jpg\",\"width\":1678,\"height\":991},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A WELCOME sign: calibration flights over western Ukraine\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A WELCOME sign: calibration flights over western Ukraine - Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A WELCOME sign: calibration flights over western Ukraine - Som2ny Network","og_description":"On 21 April 2025, an aircraft using the call sign WELCOME was spotted in the skies above Lviv, Ukraine. Unidentified in the Flightradar24 database at the time and operating between 5,000 and 10,000 feet, speculation grew about the identity of the aircraft and the nature of the flight. What we know Based on visual evidence […]","og_url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2025-04-23T12:07:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1678,"height":991,"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ukraine-An-26-Calibration-Cover.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371"},"headline":"A WELCOME sign: calibration flights over western Ukraine","datePublished":"2025-04-23T12:07:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579"},"wordCount":300,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ukraine-An-26-Calibration-Cover.jpg","keywords":["calibration","flights","Sign","ukraine","Western"],"articleSection":["Airline"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579","name":"A WELCOME sign: calibration flights over western Ukraine - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ukraine-An-26-Calibration-Cover.jpg","datePublished":"2025-04-23T12:07:01+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ukraine-An-26-Calibration-Cover.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ukraine-An-26-Calibration-Cover.jpg","width":1678,"height":991},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=200579#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A WELCOME sign: calibration flights over western Ukraine"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/fivemor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=200579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/200580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=200579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=200579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=200579"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=200579"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=200579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}