Ryanair starts developing a plan to resume flights to Ukraine

5 February 07:57

Ryanair has begun to develop a plan to resume flights to Ukraine following US President Donald Trump’s promises to make efforts to end the war. This was reported by The Telegraph, citing a statement by Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.

The airline’s CEO said that Ryanair is developing a plan that will allow it to start flights within four to six weeks after the end of the war.

“I really hope it will happen this year. I think one of the things that Trump can do will be to address the issue of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine earlier,” O’Leary was quoted as saying.

O’Leary also said that the resumption of flights would require the approval of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). It can be obtained after the official confirmation of the end of the war.

“Ultimately, there will need to be some sort of ceasefire because EASA will not allow flights until they are sure there are no missiles flying overhead,” the Ryanair executive confirmed.

Ryanair’s plan is to open about 24 routes serving Kyiv and Lviv. The capacity will be provided by redirecting aircraft based at airports such as London Stansted and Paris Orly.

According to O’Leary, Kyiv and Lviv are “ready to go” and infrastructure such as baggage belts are being put in place on a weekly basis to ensure they are operational.

Ryanair is eager to return to Ukraine after becoming the country’s second largest carrier before the February 2022 invasion.

O’Leary said Kyiv and Lviv are “ready to go” and infrastructure, such as baggage carousels, are being launched every week to ensure it is operational.

Restoring service to Odesa may take longer due to the level of damage, while some hubs in the east and south have been bombed and effectively destroyed, he said.

Last year, O’Leary came to Ukraine, visited Kyiv airport, met with the Minister of Infrastructure and presented a vision of “radical restoration of air traffic.” O’Leary complained that the 10-hour rail journey from Poland was “excruciating” and that trains were not a very practical way for millions of Ukrainians who had fled to Europe because of the war.

“In the first days, there will be huge flows of passengers due to the reunification of friends and families, as well as huge amounts of investment in economic recovery. We will be front and center in all of this,” assured Ryanair’s CEO.

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