Britain leads push to restart commercial Ukraine flights in hope of peace deal

The UK is leading work to explore restarting commercial flights to and from as hope grows of a peace deal.

The understands military specialists have been deployed to airfields in the war-torn country in recent weeks to scope out infrastructure, security and potential routes.

The push to speed up the opening of Ukraine’s air space comes as specialists plan for the deployment of Western jets to help Kyiv protect a future ceasefire.

will hold crunch talks in Kyiv on Saturday with Ukrainian President , and leaders from France, Germany and Poland about building a "coalition of the willing" to stop from breaching a peace deal.

The Prime Minister, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told to "stop obstructing efforts" to end the war ahead of their trip to the Ukrainian capital.

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Restarting commercial flights could take years, as flight routes need to be planned out and bombed out infrastructure rebuilt.

But British officials are working to speed this up so airlines can begin commercial flights to boost Ukraine's economy and make it easier for those who fled Russia's invasion to return home.

Air space is expected to open in a phased way, with military planners focused on how to secure air defence systems so airports can reopen.

Ryanair and WizzAir are both drawing up plans to swiftly resume flights as soon as it's safe to do so.

Michael O'Leary, the boss of Ryanair, said in February that the low-cost airline could have up to 5 million passengers per year within a year or two of the skies reopening.

A Government source told the Mirror: “There’s clearly the appetite to get commercial flights back into Ukraine, just look at Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O'Leary’s visit to Kyiv earlier this year.

"There are of course challenges we need to help the Ukrainians overcome, including securing the infrastructure and affordable insurance for airline operators, but we don’t think there’s anything insurmountable. In fact, we think there is real opportunity here."

The source added: "The return of Ukraine’s airspace would be huge, both symbolically and for their economy, it’s a major step on the road to normalisation."

The Prime Minister is understood to see it as an opportunity to support Ukraine and open up opportunities for British businesses.

Officials are looking at how to manage a surge in demand from airlines for rights to fly in and out of Ukraine following a potential ceasefire.

There were around 34 flights a day between the UK and Ukraine before the Covid pandemic disrupted travel and then Russia launched its bloody onslaught in 2022.

The Government is understood to be considering an overhaul of existing restrictions to increase the number of commercial flights to manage the surge in demand.

Talks have also begun to encourage insurers to consider returning to the Ukraine market to make insurance cheaper and easier to get.

Meanwhile, the UK and allies are gathering in Kyiv today(SAT) to ramp up pressure on Russia to end the fighting and come to the table to discuss peace.

US President said on Thursday that there must be "ideally, a 30-day unconditional ceasefire" - and warned the US and its partners will impose further sanctions if Putin refuses to respect it.

In a joint statement, the PM, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz said they "will stand in Kyiv in solidarity with Ukraine against Russia's barbaric and illegal full-scale invasion".

The leaders added: "We reiterate our backing for President Trump's calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace.

"Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace."

The leaders will meet the Ukrainian President and pay respects to casualties of the war before holding a virtual meeting with other countries on progress towards a force that could "regenerate" Ukraine's , No10 said.

Putin declared a 72-hour ceasefire to coincide with Russian celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany on Thursday.

But Ukrainian officials said Kremlin forces have continued offensive operations along the front line and mounted air strikes on residential areas.

On Friday, Mr Starmer met counterparts at a Joint Expeditionary Forces (JEF) gathering in Oslo, Norway, to discuss ramping up pressure on Putin. The PM said: "The message of leaders here is very, very clear, and that is that we're focused on Ukraine. (Ukrainian President) Zelensky came in virtually to part of that meeting.

"And so that's where our absolute focus is - with Ukraine, defending the values that yesterday at VE Day we were remembering and commemorating, that were hard-won in the Second World War."

The summit came as the UK unveiled a fresh raft of sanctions on Putin's shadow fleet of oil tankers. Officials confirmed action against up to 100 oil tankers that have been transporting more than $24 billion (£18 billion) worth of cargo since 2024.

Mr Starmer met crew on board a Royal Navy frigate moored in Oslo's port before greeting Norway's PM Jonas Gahr Store as he was welcomed onto a Norwegian coastguard vessel.

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