Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair said Monday that it was dropping plans to start flights to Ukraine, claiming that Kiev's airport had not fulfilled pledges made as part of an unspecified "growth agreement".

"Regrettably, Kiev airport has instead chosen to protect high fare airlines (including Ukraine International Airlines)," Chief Commercial Officer David O'Brien said in a statement, without providing any details.

Ryanair had announced in March that it would begin operating 15 weekly flights on four routes from Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands, and seven new routes were also planned for Lviv, with some 500,000 passengers expected each year.

The cancelled flights will lead to 400 job cuts, Ryanair said, and people who have already booked tickets will be refunded.

It will now focus instead on developing its operations in other countries, including Germany, Israel and Poland.

Source: AFP