Kiev  - The German low-cost airline Germanwings intends to open two new routes to the former Soviet republic Ukraine, the Interfax news agency reported Thursday.

Oleksander Davydov, a Ukraine Transport Ministry spokesman, confirmed Germanwings had applied to operate aicraft along the routes Kiev-Berlin and Kiev-Cologne.

"We are considering the (Germanwings) application," Davydov said.

The report came three days after Ministry of Transport officials announced they were in discussions with an unnamed German low-cost air carrier to become the second low-cost airline servicing Ukraine.

Currently only one low-cost airline, Hungarian Whizz Air, is registered to operates flights into and out of Ukraine. The first Whizz Air flight is expected this month.

A Transport Ministry decision on allowing a second low cost carrier, most likely German, into the Ukrainian market will come by early July, according to the report.

Talks are in progress between the Ukrainian government and an Arab low-cost carrier as well, Transport Ministry officials said.

Cologne-based Germanwings was founded in 2002 and has a fleet of 27 Airbus aircraft. Its main routes are to East and West Europe.

Ukraine's air passenger market has grown dramatically in recent years, with an estimated 30 per cent expansion projected for 2008 alone.

The highly-regulated sector currently currently is dominated by a Ukrainian airlines charging rates some three times ticket prices offered by budget carriers over similar distances. (dpa)