Jozsef Varadi, the chief executive, is in line for a £100m payday if he can get the FTSE 250 company’s share price to £120 over the coming years.
Wizz executives set out the importance of expanding its operations in Ukraine as part of plans to triple its fleet to 500 planes by the end of 2030.
Mr Varadi said last month: “Ukraine, despite all the geopolitical concerns in the country has been performing as a very strong market, and we have been following that through be it additional investments into the network and deployment of aircraft in the marketplace.
The finance chief, Jourik Hooghe, added: “We are seeing a lot more demand for our services and products and capacity [in Ukraine].
“The industry is weak right now, many of the incumbent carriers are weak, not serving the market and not committed to the market as before.”
Any withdrawal from the Ukraine market will come as a blow to Ryanair.
It was targeting a fourfold expansion in the country in 2022, from 1m to 4m passengers.
Mr O’Leary said in January: “If there was erosion in [indiscernible] long-term kind of position up there, we will pivot those aircraft to [to other destinations]. We can build those aircraft readily going to other destinations.”