Ryanair to table bid for Cyprus Airways

Ryanair will probably submit an expression of interest in troubled Cyprus Airways, which is up for sale, Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said on Tuesday.

The Cypriot government in mid-July invited non-binding expressions of interest in its shares or assets in Cyprus Airways, a state-controlled airline which has posted heavy losses for years.

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, and requires a non-binding expression of interest to consider a potential binding offer.

“We probably will make some expression of interest in Cyprus Airways,” O’Leary told reporters in Nicosia in response to a question.

“...We want to see if we could help the government come up with some rescue package even though it might be too late.”

The Cypriot airline has been selling assets to keep afloat, including slots at London’s Heathrow airport.

The state owns 93 percent of the airline.

[Reuters]