Yahoo Finance Western companies scramble to evacuate staff from Ukraine
Wizz Air is scrambling to rescue four aircraft and staff stranded in Ukraine after commercial flights to and from the country were suspended.
The London-listed carrier is trying to safely evacuate staff and their families in Kyiv and Lyiv just 48 hours after vowing to keep flying to Ukraine.
Three of the aircraft are in Kyiv and one is in Lyiv, but rescue efforts are being hampered by the flight ban.
A spokesman for Wizz said that there remains a possibility of flying the planes out of the country, despite the measures taken following the Russian invasion early on Thursday. Each plane has a list price of more than $100m (£75m) when new.
Businesses with operations in Ukraine are scrambling to protect workers there.
The world’s biggest advertising company, WPP, said it is on standby to help 200 staff leave the Ukranian capital.
Mark Reed, chief executive of WPP, said: "We've been working with them over the past few weeks to provide a package of financial support, access to medical facilities and we have been helping those that want to relocate, to relocate.
"We are in close contact with them to see how we can help."
CMS, a London-based international law firm, has helped some of its employees move from its Kyiv office to EU countries. The firm declined to confirm how many staff have been relocated, but said it had a "dedicated team" assisting colleagues and is continuing to "explore arrangements in what is a fast-moving situation".
A CMS spokesman said: "Although our communication lines remain open, we have made the decision to close our Kyiv office until further notice.
"Our thoughts are with our colleagues, clients, and friends during this difficult time. We, like many, hope for a peaceful resolution to this conflict."
Baker McKenzie, one of the world’s largest law firms, also shut its Kyiv office "until the situation stabilises".
Nestle said it had temporarily closed its factories, warehouses, and other parts of its supply chain in Ukraine.
Staff had been asked to stay at home. Nestle has contingency plans that mean the company should be able to restart operations in the country soon.
Moldova airspace has also been closed after Russian forces reportedly landed in the country. Commercial airlines have been avoiding Belarussian airspace since May last year following the forced landing of a Ryanair flight.
A spokesman for Wizz Air said: “We will be evacuating, at the earliest opportunity, all of our Ukrainian-based crew, their immediate families, and any families of Wizz Air Ukrainian nationals who wish to leave the country.”
The closure of Ukrainian and surrounding countries’ airspace will come as a major blow to budget carriers that have regarded the region as a key growth area.
Ryanair had planned to quadruple the number of people it flies to Ukraine to 4m this year. The airline said on Thursday it remained committed to the country and was looking forward to restart services as soon as it was safe to do so.
Budapest-based Wizz, which focuses on central and eastern European routes, has said Ukraine is “an important part of our growth plans”.
Shares in the FTSE 250 airline fell 14pc on news of the Russian invasion. Easyjet and British Airways owner IAG were both about 8pc lower.
Ryanair shares were 5pc lower in Dublin. A spokesman for the Irish carrier said: “Due to the closure of Ukrainian airspace overnight, and the apparent invasion by Russian forces all Ryanair flights to/from Ukraine have been suspended for at least the next 14 days.
“All affected passengers will receive email notices later this morning and all flights to/from Ukraine have been removed from sale for at least the next four weeks.”
