Wizz Air confident in new Tuzla deal
Tuzla Airport will commence talks with low cost carrier Wizz Air over a new four-year agreement which would see the airline serve Bosnia and Herzegovina's third largest city until at least 2023. The existing four-year contract will expire in November of next year. Wizz Air's CEO, Jozsef Varadi, told EX-YU Aviation News he is confident a new agreement would be reached. "I would guess so. I think it is in the interest of Tuzla and the region to see our continuous operations and them improving their infrastructure. I'm pretty sure Tuzla Airport will be business-minded in that regard". Previously, Tuzla Airport's General Manager, Rifet Karasalihović, noted, "We will start talks this year over the stationing of a third aircraft in Tuzla. As a result, I believe that we will have some new routes next year, in addition to the four that have been discontinued (Baden Baden, Stockholm Skavsta, Billund and Vaxjo), which are to be resumed".
Wizz Air, as Tuzla Airport's only customer, has reduced its operations to the city this winter, which has directly impacted the airport's passenger figures. The airport saw its numbers decline for a second consecutive month in November as it handled 30.763 travellers, representing a decrease of 17.8%. However, overall, Tuzla has registered its busiest year on record, following strong results throughout most of 2018. It handled 545.118 passengers during the January - November period, up 10%. The airport estimates it will welcome a total of 570.000 travellers by year's end.
Wizz Air launched new flights from Tuzla to Vienna and Baden Baden this year, with the latter discontinued over the winter season. As Tuzla's only scheduled operator, the airline helped kick-start the airport's passenger development five years ago. The carrier has put on sale some 700.000 seats from Bosnia and Herzegovina this year, up 10% on 2017. It remains the country's busiest low cost airline with a market share of 48%, ahead of Pegasus Airlines and Flydubai. Its busiest routes from the city continue to be Malmo, Gothenburg and Dortmund. Tuzla Airport previously said it was aiming to attract new airline operators in 2018 in a bid to ease its reliance on Wizz Air, however, this has not materialised.
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