Ryanair won’t take off to Ukraine anytime soon

Irish-low cost airline Ryanair has cancelled plans to serve destinations in Ukraine over a dispute with Kiev’s Boryspil Airport, according to a company statement released yesterday.

In March this year, Ryanair announced that it planned to fly four new routes to the capital, Kiev, and seven new routes to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. The airline’s 10 July statement asserted that the management of Boryspil, Kiev’s principal airport, had reneged on terms agreed earlier this year and had “chosen to protect high-fare airlines and deprive Ukrainian consumers/visitors access to Europe’s lowest air fares”.

This reference to high-fare airlines is likely a swipe at national carrier Ukrainian International Airlines, which denied earlier this month that it had lobbied against an agreement between Ryanair and Boryspil.

Prior to Ryanair’s statement, Boryspil head Pavlo Ryabikin said that the airline’s demands did not comply with Ukrainian legislation.

The airline closed ticket sales for flights to Ukraine on 10 July, a particular blow to Ukrainians hoping to take advantage of the new visa-free regime with the European Union.

Source: Kyiv Post and New York Times