A user of a core publication about aviation, avianews.com, on March 7 noticed the names of two Ukrainian airports – Kyiv Zhuliany and Lviv Snilow Airport – are now in the source code of the website of Irish low-cost airline Ryanair.
This could mean Ryanair is throttling up to launch services in Ukraine.
And although the airline – the busiest international carrier by passenger numbers, and the largest European airline by scheduled passengers carried – says there’s “nothing to announce currently,” it has confirmed that it’s negotiating with Ukrainian airports.
“We’re currently in talks with around 100 airports over potential new Ryanair routes, including in Ukraine,” a Ryanair spokesperson told the Kyiv Post on March 9.
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan told the Kyiv Post he can’t confirm the airline’s arrival to the Ukrainian market either, but said he would be able to on March 15 – a date he mentioned during an earlier interview with 112 TV channel.
“I’m pleased to announce that there will be a press conference with one of the largest European low-cost carriers on March 15,” Omelyan said in the interview. “It’ll announce its launch on the Ukraine market.”
He said there might be two briefings: in Lviv and Kyiv, the cities whose airports are mentioned in the Ryanair website’s source code.
“This is the big news. And this is what we’ve been trying to achieve for several years,” Omelyan said. “I hope Ukrainians will fly more again.”
Kyiv Post staff writer Denys Krasnikov can be reached at [email protected].
