Ryanair plans to resume flights to Ukraine by end of 2023

O'Leary stated that two plans are being considered: the end of the war and the opening of the airspace in one or two days. The second is that the airline may plan a small number of flights as early as the end of this year.

O'Leary cited the example of Israel, where aerial operations continue despite occasional rocket attacks.

Aircraft can land on a daily basis in Tel Aviv, which is only 10 minutes away from the West Bank, where they are launching rockets, he said.

Ukraine's Ministry for Restoration is currently working to resume some flights to Ukraine at the end of this year.

I think we should be optimistic. Certainly, the ministry is working on trying to reopen some flights to Kyiv and Lviv in the end of this year. And if they can prove that it's safe to do so then we will operate those flights, O'Leary noted.

Meanwhile, O'Leary stressed that if Ukraine fails to convince the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and insurance companies that it is safe to operate a limited number of flights to Kyiv and Lviv, the company will not be able to resume flights.

Ryanair said it planned to offer more than 5 million seats to, from, and within Ukraine in the first 12 months after the end of the war. It would increase that to more than 10 million seats over a five-year period.

The visit of Ryanair senior management to Boryspil Airport is a powerful signal that the largest airline in Europe sees huge potential in the Ukrainian air transport market, said Boryspil International Airport CEO Oleksiy Dubrevskyy.

The move highlights Ukraine's sustained efforts to court international investors as it plans for its future after the war.

Ryanair would offer flights to and from Ukraine within eight weeks of that happening. The airline would operate 600 flights per week between Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa and more than 20 capitals in the European Union.

The resumption of flights from Kharkiv and Kherson — both served by Ryanair until Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 forced the closure of Ukrainian airspace to commercial flights — would have to wait until infrastructure at both airports had been rebuilt.