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Ryanair: Possible interest in CAIR

22/07/2014 15:18
Low-budget airline Ryanair will probably submit an expression of interest in Cyprus Airways, which is up for sale, Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said on Tuesday.

“We probably will make some expression of interest in Cyprus Airways," O'Leary told reporters in Nicosia in response to a question.

"We want to see if we could help the government come up with some rescue package even though it might be too late”, he said.

Mr. O'Leary said he would be meeting with Cypriot tourism and finance officials, where Ryanair would raise concerns over high fees charged by Cypriot airports.

“We would like to grow more, but the impediment are the high costs," he said, adding that a high cost base had seen Cyprus lose half a million passengers over a five-year period since 2008.

"The place is stagnating," he said.

According to Ryanair, charges at Cyprus's two airports are double that of an airport in Berlin and are among the highest in Europe.