Ryanair could soon be flying to the Middle East and Russia as part of the budget carrier’s plans for expansion.

CEO Michael O’Leary has revealed the airline is looking to develop the business in Cyprus, to use it as a hub for flights to destinations including Israel and Jordan.

On Monday, reporting a 152 per cent surge in first quarter profits, O’Leary said he would be ‘very keen’ to expand into Cyprus as it was revealed the carrier had submitted an expression of interest in Cyprus Airways at the request of the Cypriot Government.

There is ongoing debate surrounding the safety of commercial airlines using airspace above politically unstable countries.

Last week, US airlines were forced to pull out of Tel Aviv for 24 hours following a rocket attack, while carriers have rerouted planes flying over Syria - and over war-torn eastern Ukraine following the downing of Malaysia Airline’s flight MH17.

Speaking about the airline's plans, Mr O'Leary said he would be very interested in using Cyprus as a base to develop new routes.

He explained: ‘We are not particularly interested in Cyprus Airways, which has huge legacy issues and historic losses. 

‘We would however be interested in growing our business in Cyprus and we would be very keen to base additional aircraft there.’

International routes from Cyprus to destinations outside Europe, which could include budget flights to Israel, Jordan and Russia, would require a licence to fly beyond the EU’s borders.

O’Leary added: ‘If we are going to put aircraft in Cyprus, we would need to have a Cypriot air operator’s certificate (AOC) so we could go from Cyprus into some of the Middle Eastern destinations.

‘The problem for us is that once you go out of the EU we can only fly from Ireland because we go back to being an Irish airline with an Irish AOC.

‘But there are other places where it would make sense to have some flights; from say Cyprus to places like Israel, the Lebanon, Egypt, Russia. So we’re looking at a Cypriot AOC.’

Ryanair was among nearly 20 companies to submit a non-binding expression of interest. The process is a preliminary step towards any eventual binding offer by any bidder.

Cyprus Airways has struggled to survive against cheaper competitors and has been loss-making for years despite several attempts at a turnaround.

The airline has recently resorted to selling assets to stay afloat, including its slots at London's Heathrow airport.

‘We're happy to work with them on all of that,’ said O'Leary, who has discussed expanding Cypriot tourism with the government.