The Financial Times has conducted a review with several major players in the aviation industry on how they view the possibilities of opening air connections to and from Ukraine if the parties were to reach a peace agreement.
Hungarian Wizz Air states that it intends to have 15 aircraft in place within two years of an agreement, while Ryanair is even more aggressive and promises to be in place within two weeks.
It's just a question of when it's safe to fly again, says Eddie Wilson, CEO of the airline part of the Ryanair group.
The war has brought civil aviation to a complete standstill in Ukraine. But in 2021, the year before Russia launched its full-scale invasion, 10.8 million passengers flew to the country. Wizz Air CEO József Váradi said in an interview with the Financial Times that a new opening would be “a significant opportunity for us.”
In addition to a wave of Ukrainian citizens wanting to return and extensive air traffic in connection with the country's reconstruction, József Váradi sees another potential group of Ukraine travelers, so-called "disaster tourism." This sometimes controversial phenomenon includes travelers visiting areas or countries that have been plagued by, for example, natural disasters or war.
When the Berlin Wall fell, millions of people came to see it, says József Váradi.
British Easyjet, which has not previously flown to Ukraine, is also investigating opportunities to establish flight routes to the country, which CEO Kenton Jarvis describes as "Europe's largest construction project."
