By Conor Humphries
DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ryanair <RYA.I> boss Michael O’Leary warned on Thursday that the Russia-Ukraine war would be an ongoing issue for all European airlines for years to come, a day after Poland shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace.
Warsaw Chopin and Modlin airports, as well as Rzeszow and Lublin airports in the country’s east, temporarily closed before resuming operations after Poland shot down the drones early on Wednesday.
Air-traffic control services all over Europe were significantly impacted on Wednesday and only 60% of Ryanair’s flights were on time, compared to a normal rate of around 90%, group CEO O’Leary said. Flights from Scandinavia and the Baltic states in particular were impacted.
“This is going to be an ongoing issue for all airlines and all European citizens for the next number of years,” he said in comments at the company’s annual general meeting.
Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS surveillance planes, and NATO mid-air refuelling aircraft scrambled in an operation to shoot down drones entering Polish airspace from Tuesday evening until morning, officials said.
The impact of the incident, which marked the first time a member of NATO is known to have fired shots during the war, was discussed at a meeting of the company’s board of directors on Wednesday.
“I think we expect more disruptions, unless the European, the EU and the White House, take some firm stick, preferably in the form of sanctions, penal sanctions, on Russia,” O’Leary told journalists after the AGM.
“This kind of irritant … Russia playing games with Europe – will continue,” he said.
(Reporting by Conor Humphries; writing by Muvija M; editing by Sarah Young)
