Flights to Ukraine may resume till year-end – Ryanair CEO
Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier Ryanair considers the possibility of resuming a limited number of flights to Ukraine once the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EUASA) declares it to be safe, Chief Executive Officer Michael O'Leary said in an interview with Interfax Ukraine on July 21.
"So, there are two plans, one, the war finishes and everything reopens in one day or two. And then there is the more likely [scenario], under which we can put some small number of flights in here at the end of this year," O'Leary said during his visit to Ukraine.
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The Ministry for the Restoration of Ukraine is already working on the restoration of aviation connections with Kyiv and Lviv.
"I think we should be optimistic. Certainly, the ministry is working on trying to reopen some flights to Kyiv and Lviv at the end of this year. And if they can prove that it's safe to do so then we will operate those flights," the company chief assured journalists.
However, no flight resumption is possible without the EUASA’s permit, he stressed.
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O'Leary gave an example of Israel with regular flights despite the state of a permanent war.
"It has been determined that it is safe to fly [to and from Israel] and that they can protect the aircraft, so I see no reason why we can't return flights [in Ukraine]," he said.
O'Leary together with other company's officials traveled to Ukraine on July 20 and inspected Boryspil International Airport on the outskirts of Kyiv.
Raynair plans to restore Ukraine's aviation connection along 75 European routes within eight weeks after flights are declared safe.
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O'Leary said earlier that rebuilding of Ukraine would provide a huge opportunity for European businesses to participate and accelerate, while flights would play a key role in this process as Russias were going to destroy all roads and bridges they could while retreating from Ukrainian territory.
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