The low-cost airline Ryanair is currently looking for pilots and flight attendants to be deployed from Ukraine. The carrier wants to prepare for the fact that after the end of the war the connections to the country invaded by the Russian army can be resumed as quickly as possible.

In the course of the presentation of the latest financial figures, CEO Michael O'Leary told Reuters, among other things: "We are hiring a number of Ukrainian pilots and flight attendants so that we can set up our bases in Ukraine again if and when it is safe . We are very committed to returning to Ukraine as soon as it is safe."

Shortly after Russia's attack on Ukraine, the manager said that it will be the first international airline to reactivate its connections. At the time, Michael O'Leary suspected that you wouldn't be able to fly at least until the 2022/23 winter season. At the moment, however, there is no end in sight to the war. Ryanair can therefore not create a real timetable for the Ukraine comeback. However, preparations are being made so that Ukraine can be included in the route network again as quickly as possible after the end of the war.

On February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation launched a major attack against neighboring Ukraine. Civil flight operations were prohibited with immediate effect for safety reasons. While Ryanair and other international airlines made sure that the aircraft did not remain in Ukraine, Wizz Air was unable to fly four machines. The Airbus A320 that was based in Lviv has now been able to leave the war-torn country, but three Airbus A320s are still based at Kyiv Zhuliany Airport.

Before the corona pandemic, competitor Ryanair had five Ukrainian airports in its route network. There were concrete plans to expand the offer to 12 airports and to use up to 20 machines for the Ukraine business. However, this did not happen because of the war instigated by Russia. But the plans are still "in the drawer" and they want to implement them as quickly as possible after the end of the fighting.