Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary says he is ready to quickly resume operations in Ukraine after the fighting ends. Before the Russian invasion, the Irish low-cost airline was the second largest in the country.
Ryanair says it has hired around 60 pilots and 80 cabin crew from Ukraine. Currently, these operate mainly from Polish airports. “But if the situation were to unblock, we could fly there again within two weeks,” said Mr O’Leary. “We are actively exploring ways to return to Ukraine.”
The airline plans to fly 30 routes from four Ukrainian airports (Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, and later Kherson after reconstruction of the airport) back into the European Union during the 12 months following its return, he said.
“We will be Ukraine’s biggest airline,” O’Leary concluded.
