Ryanair may resume flights to Ukraine by the end of 2023. Find out under what conditions the skies over the country will be opened and where the first planes from Ukraine will fly

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Ukraine's Ministry of Reconstruction has begun work on partially reopening Ukraine's skies with the support of Ryanair, which has said it is ready to resume some flights to and from Ukraine by the end of 2023. The airline's CEO Michael O'Leary told Interfax-Ukraine that they are considering two options:

"We are considering two plans: one, when the war is over and everything opens in one or two days. And the second, most likely, according to which we can plan a small number of flights at the end of this year."

Read more about why Ukraine still does not have a wide rail connection with Europe here.

When and under what conditions will Ukrainian skies be open for flights?

According to Michael O'Leary, civilian air travel in times of war has already become commonplace, particularly in Israel, which is constantly under the threat of rocket attacks. However, airplanes are able to make daily flights, for example, to Tel Aviv, because the authorities have every opportunity to protect aviation.

They want to resume flights to Ukraine in a similar way, and according to the airline's director, there are no obstacles to this. That is, to actually open the skies, a plan to protect aircraft and confirm that it will be safe to operate certain flights must be agreed upon and presented to the European Aviation Safety Agency (Eurocontrol) and insurance companies.

Michael O'Leary also noted that it will take about six weeks to deploy the infrastructure and aircraft in Europe that will be able to serve Ukrainian airports. 

In addition, it has become known that by the end of 2023, the Ministry of Reconstruction of Ukraine plans to resume domestic flights between Kyiv and Lviv. It is noted that not all, but only some flights from the capital to western Ukraine will be operated.

At the same time, Eurocontrol stated the day before that restrictions on civil aviation flights would probably remain in effect until 2029. However, Ukraine has the opportunity to convince its partners that it has everything it needs to organize safe operations for aircraft in the country.

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Where will the first flights from Ukraine go?

Ryanair not only has available aircraft in major European cities that can be deployed for flights to Ukraine, but also cooperates with Ukrainian pilots and other crew members who are ready to fly and are already waiting for the skies to open. As Bloomberg reported, Ryanair has already hired about 140 Ukrainian crew members, including pilots.

According to preliminary estimates by Michael O'Leary, the first cities to connect Kyiv and Lviv with Europe are likely to be Warsaw, Berlin, Frankfurt, Milan, Rome, London, Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris. 

We remind you! Already this year, Poland's air service will be expanded with dozens of new flights to various countries around the world. Ticket booking is already open. Read our previous article to find out where you can fly to and what schedule the new flights will be operating on.

Photo: UNSPLASH

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