Early in February 2022, I hurriedly replaced the Deal of the Week in my weekly newsletter. The last-minute change was nothing to do with Covid: with the build-up of Russian troops on the borders of Ukraine, I reluctantly excised mention of a fares war from London to one of the most beautiful cities in southeast Europe: Odesa. Wizz Air (from Luton) and Ryanair (from Stansted) had both decided to launch flights to Ukraine’s Black Sea pearl in March 2022.
Tickets were selling at just £25 for the 1,450-mile flight. But Vladimir Putin had other ideas. Russia invaded, and all passenger flying to, from and within Ukraine ceased.
