A war instigated by the Russian Federation has been raging in Ukraine since February 24, 2022. The consequence of this is that since then, civil air traffic has been suspended for safety reasons. The low-cost airline Ryanair wants to fly from Ukraine as soon as possible after the end of the conflict.
For this purpose, CEO Michael O'Leary traveled to the capital Kiev and met with representatives of the airports of Kiev-Borispil, Lviv and Odessa, among others. There should also have been a tour of the terminals of the largest airport. The condition of the airport infrastructure is said to be quite good, at least in Borispil.
The Ryanair Group has announced that up to 30 Boeing 737-Max aircraft could be stationed in Ukraine in the future. These should be distributed to the three airports mentioned in the previous paragraph. In the medium term, they also want to fly again from Cherson and Kharkiv. However, the last two airports mentioned have suffered serious damage in the course of the war so that it can currently be assumed that it will take much longer before they can be connected to the network again after the end of the hostilities.
At the moment it is not foreseeable that the war could end in the short term. High-ranking Russian politicians have repeatedly indicated that they have no intention of withdrawing from Ukraine. Rather, the Russian propaganda acts as if the neighboring country could soon be completely occupied. Faced with the reality of day-to-day combat, Ryanair's announcements should be taken as such, as there is no telling when the war will be over. According to its own statements, the low-cost airline has undertaken to fly from there again within eight weeks after the end of the war or the release of the airports in Kiev-Borispil, Lviv and Odessa.
“Ryanair was Ukraine's second largest airline before the illegitimate Russian invasion in February 2022. As soon as the skies over Ukraine open up to commercial aviation again, Ryanair will return to Ukraine, connecting the main Ukrainian airports to over 20 EU capitals. We are working closely with the Ukrainian government to rebuild Ukraine's aviation, industry and economy. The fastest way to rebuild and rehabilitate the Ukrainian economy is low-cost air travel. Ryanair intends to invest heavily in Ukraine and lead the aviation recovery, investing up to $3 billion and deploying up to 30 new Boeing MAX aircraft at Ukraine's three main airports in Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa. Having also served Kharkiv and Kherson airports prior to the invasion, Ryanair will return to those airports once infrastructure is restored. Ryanair remains committed to reconstruction and investment in Ukraine. We currently employ hundreds of Ukrainian pilots, flight attendants and IT professionals and will create thousands of new aviation jobs for Ukrainian citizens once Ukrainian airspace reopens. Ukraine is a country of 40 million people, many of whom have been scattered across Europe over the past year. We look forward to reuniting these families with Ryanair low cost flights to major Ukrainian airports as soon as it is safely possible. Ryanair's low fare flights will be crucial for the reconstruction and recovery of Ukraine's economy and we will invest heavily in cooperation with the Ukrainian government and the main Ukrainian airports to fly up to 10 million passengers per year to/from Ukraine as soon as European and Ukrainian regulators allow us to do so,” said Group CEO Michael O'Leary.
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