MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 18, 2023--

Ryanair’s boss has pledged to “charge back into Ukraine” once commercial flying reopens and promised investment worth $3bn (£2.3bn) in the wartorn country. Michael O’Leary visited Kyiv on Thursday and said that he soon hoped to reconnect the country’s Lviv and Odesa airports with more than 20 European Union capital cities within eight weeks of the reopening of air space with around 600 weekly flights. “The fastest way to rebuild and restore the Ukrainian economy will be with low-fare air travel,” the chief executive said. “Ryanair intends to invest heavily in Ukraine and lead this aviation recovery by investing up to $3bn and basing up to 30 Boeing Max aircraft at Ukraine’s three main airports in Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa. “Having previously also served Kharkiv and Kherson airports prior to the invasion, Ryanair will return to serving those airports too, as soon as the infrastructure has been restored.” He added that the company will employ hundreds of Ukrainian pilots, cabin crew and IT professionals, and we will look to create thousands of new jobs in aviation for Ukrainian citizens. It is hard to say when commercial flights will be possible to and from Ukraine with restrictions still in place due to the ongoing war with Russia. Ryanair held meetings in Kyiv’s Boryspil International Airport with representatives from Ukraine’s main airports, Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa. Mr O’Leary was joined by Boryspil airport chief executive Oleksiy Dubrevskyy and Ukraine’s communities minister Oleksandr Kubrakov. The latter man said the resumption of flights will be possible “as soon as the security situation allows”. “We are already working on solutions and investment plans to enable aircraft to fly up quickly,” he said. Ryanair noted the “excellent state” of the airport infrastructure after examining terminals, baggage claims and passenger check-ins. The company has said that in the first 12 months after the war, more than 5 million seats to and from Ukraine will be on offer with 10 million per year within five years. Read More Russia-Ukraine war – live: Moscow restricts movement of British diplomats over support for Kyiv UK donated 184,000 more artillery shells to Ukraine than planned, says Wallace Ukraine and Pakistan call for restoring the Black Sea grain deal after talks in Islamabad The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Incredibly, there was another level of noise for the crowd of over 75,000 at the Olympic Stadium to reach. The loudest roar of the night came when Australia were already through. Leading Denmark by two goals, the Women’s World Cup and its co-hosts got the moment they had been waiting for. Sam Kerr, the face of the tournament, had finally arrived. Ruled out of the group stages due to injury, Kerr got her first minutes of the World Cup as the Matildas stood with one foot already in the quarter-finals. With the game won and Denmark well beaten, Kerr’s touches were inconsequential; that her only shot from the angle flashed over the bar did not matter. But Australia have their star back, the final piece for a team who are delivering for their country and are growing with the competition. Kerr’s introduction came moments after Hayley Raso had sent the home crowd into a frenzy, doubling Australia’s lead with a crisp finish from another clinical counter-attack. The crowd in Sydney had been electric when Australia attacked, a rolling wave of noise that grew from Caitlin Foord’s sublime opening goal. Nothing, though, could compare to the welcome Kerr received and what it represented for a team who are starting to believe they are contenders again. For so long at this World Cup, Kerr had been forced to watch on as a kind of mascot: the star who could not play. A calf injury had cruelly ruled the Chelsea star out of Australia’s opening game, an absence that grew to three matches as the Matildas were forced to find a way to survive the group stage without their leader. But Australia’s performance in thrashing Canada 4-0 also ensured that Kerr did not need to be used. Once again without Kerr, this time in the last-16, their display against Denmark meant the game was won when she finally arrived. Because with Kerr sidelined, Australia have managed to adjust, instead becoming a different side entirely. It clicked against Canada, a 4-0 win that not only saved their World Cup but sparked their tournament into life. Players who looked lost without Kerr were suddenly released, and they have now grown with the responsibility. Foord was outstanding once again against Denmark, a constant, driving threat on Australia’s left. She was released for the opening goal by the brilliant Mary Fowler, the 20-year-old who excelled as she manipulated the space between the lines, while Raso scored again with another clinical finish. Suddenly Australia now have goal threats across the front line, with the best striker in the world still to add against either France or Morocco in the quarter-finals. “It’s the icing on the cake,” beamed the Australia manager Tony Gustavsson, but Kerr also returns to a team who have changed in her absence and where actually she isn’t guaranteed a start in the quarter-final given how the side has performed. Australia now have multiple goalscorers and other players have taken some of the weight off her shoulders. “It’s a massive boost,” Foord said. “For other teams looking ahead, it’s pretty scary for them that she’s back with us.” The question now, though, is how and when Kerr returns to the starting line-up, and who drops out. Without Kerr, Australia have settled on a 4-4-2 system that is devastating on the counter-attack, an unassuming loaded gun of formation that is built to spring into life on the break. In the atmosphere of the Olympic Stadium, this sort of gritty, counter-punching team, willed on by a wall of sound, looks so dangerous. Foord fits it superbly. A forward with guts and spirit and as well as skill, who has found her confidence since her underwhelming opening displays against Ireland and Nigeria, she was Australia’s player of the match for the second match in a row. She was released by Fowler’s stunning turn and pass for the opener: Foord, with so much time in which to find the finish, kept her head to bury the shot through the legs of Lene Christensen. Australia’s second was also played out to the soundtrack of a team crashing forwards. The break developed on the left, with Kyra Cooney-Cross’ overlapping run from midfield. Emily van Egmond laid it back to Raso, a player who has found her scoring touch. The finish was fired low into the corner for her third goal of the World Cup. Kerr had called to warm-up only a couple of minutes earlier, the excitement rippling around the stadium, yet Australia did not need her really. This was a composed and confident performance, entirely measured, and avoiding the sort of draining emotional energy that accompanied England’s penalty shootout victory over Nigeria earlier in the day. Denmark barely threatened after going behind. Their early chances invariably came through Pernille Harder, their roaming menace who Denmark are just unable to support. Harder went through twice in the opening stages - driving at a retreating Australia defence, first she went to the outside and shot wide, before then ducking inside and firing straight at Mackenzie Arnold. On both counts she knew she should have done better. Denmark were largely forgotten about here as the hosts cruised through and the Kerr mystery was solved. The theories that the extent of Kerr’s injury was being covered up would have grown when she only watched on during Australia’s warm-up, wearing her boots but wrapped under a heavy coat that did not come off. At half time she was not among the players loosening up on the pitch. But for Australia, getting Kerr back was the final step of a tournament that has been defined by their reaction to overcome challenges. After the chaos of the group stage, where they stood on the brink of an early exit, there was finally a comfortable win. This is a team who are galvanised, coming together, and just at the right time. Read More England survive penalty drama to reveal vital quality in Women’s World Cup dream Who and when do England play next? Lionesses route to the World Cup final Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today Chloe Kelly: England’s woman for the biggest occasion strikes again A timeline of Donald Trump’s spat with Megan Rapinoe How many games will Lauren James miss at Women’s World Cup after red card?

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