Wizz Air plans major expansion in war-torn country: here’s when flights restart
Europe’s leading low-cost airlines are preparing to re-enter Ukraine as soon as a peace agreement allows the country’s airspace and airports to reopen. Executives at Wizz Air, Ryanair and easyJet say they expect an immediate surge in demand driven by returning citizens, large-scale reconstruction projects and even a short-term wave of so-called “catastrophe tourism”.
Wizz Air plans major expansion in Ukraine
Hungary-based Wizz Air, formerly the largest non-Ukrainian carrier operating in the country, is preparing the most ambitious return. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Wizz Air completed more than 5,000 flights to Ukraine in 2021, making it one of the dominant players in Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa.
Chief executive József Váradi told the Financial Times that the airline is “fully prepared” to move quickly.
“As soon as the airspace opens, we are going to be very quick to re-establish ourselves. Reopening would be a significant opportunity for us,” he said.
Wizz Air plans to station 15 aircraft in Ukraine within two years of a peace agreement, rising to 50 within seven years. Váradi expects strong demand from Ukrainians returning home, as well as travellers drawn by the country’s extensive reconstruction efforts and a temporary spike in visitors curious to see post-war sites.
“When the Berlin Wall came down, millions of people went there to see it,” he noted.
Ryanair aims to restart flights within two weeks
Ryanair also intends to move fast. The airline carried around 1.5 million passengers a year to Ukraine before flights were suspended, and it has already visited key airports in preparation for reopening.
Chief executive Eddie Wilson said Ryanair could place flights on sale within two weeks of any agreement that makes operations safe.
“With aircraft based in 95 airports across Europe, we can open routes from any of our bases without disrupting our network,” Wilson said. “There wouldn’t be any difficulty filling four million passengers over there.”
He added that services could be launched from Ireland, the UK or EU airports with three to five weekly frequencies, enabling rapid capacity growth across the country.
easyJet also exploring routes
Although easyJet did not operate in Ukraine before the war, the airline is closely examining entry opportunities. Chief executive Kenton Jarvis described post-war Ukraine as potentially “Europe’s largest construction project”, adding that many Ukrainians living abroad will want to return home once it is safe.
Jarvis said air traffic control could restart relatively quickly. The main uncertainties concern the state of runways, terminals and airport infrastructure, and whether they will meet the highest safety requirements.
Unlike its rivals, easyJet has no short-term plans to base aircraft in Ukraine once operations resume.
Safety remains the determining factor
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) continues to advise airlines against entering Ukrainian airspace or landing in the country due to the ongoing risk of military activity, Portfolio writes. The agency warns of potential deliberate targeting or misidentification of civil aircraft: a concern underscored by the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine.
According to Cirium data, only one airline — Russia’s low-cost Smartavia — has registered flights to Ukraine during the past two years.
A dormant market waiting to reopen
Before the pandemic, nearly 15 million passengers travelled to and from Ukraine in 2019. Even in 2021, the year before the invasion, numbers reached almost 11 million.
For Europe’s biggest budget airlines, the reopening of Ukraine represents a rare opportunity: a large, strategically located aviation market with enormous pent-up demand. But for now, preparations remain on the runway, awaiting a peace deal that will determine when flights can safely take off again.