Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary is believed to be planning to turn Cyprus into a new eastern Mediterranean hub by acquiring loss-making government-owned Cyprus Airways.
O’Leary flew to Cyprus last week to submit a take-over proposal that he said would put Cyprus Airways and the island’s tourism sector ‘back on a path of a very much renewed and rapid growth’.
Cyprus Airways, which will pull out of Heathrow next month, has seen its traffic fall from around three million passengers a year to just 600,000.
The Cypriot government, which owns 94% of the airline, has already given it €100 million in state aid.
O’Leary said that under the terms of a takeover agreement, the Cyprus Airways brand would have to be retained. The carrier operates just six aircraft.
Ryanair has only ever bought one other airline, the low-cost carrier Buzz.
Bidders for Cyprus Airways have until the end of next week to provide a non-binding proposal for acquiring the airline. Those proposals will be examined by September 30, when a short-list will be drafted.
Other bidders are understood to include Lebanese airline MEA, Israel’s Arkia and Romanian carrier Blue Air.
