“I think what we will be doing is looking at expanding our operations outside of Europe,” the chief executive told journalists on Tuesday (9 May). “We’re growing strongly in neighbouring countries to Europe, [such as] Morocco, Israel, Jordan and we’re looking at Egypt.”

O’Leary’s comments come on the heels of Ryanair announcing a $40 billion order of 300 new Boeing 737-Max-10, which will be delivered between 2027 and 2033. 

The new and greener planes will allow Ryanair to increase its passenger levels from the current 168 million to 300 million by March 2034. 

Nevertheless, Ryanair’s main focus remains returning to the Ukrainian market, which was closed in February last year following Moscow’s invasion. 

“We were the largest airline in Ukraine when the Russians invaded last year,” O’Leary said. “We intend to be the first aircraft back in there when the Ukrainians successfully repel the Russian invasion.”

Since then, Ryanair has continued to hire Ukrainian pilots and cabin crew members, hoping to come back to the country soon. “We’re investing heavily in what we think would be a big growth market in Ukraine," he added.