Wizz Air to resume Belgrade flights next week
Low cost carrier Wizz Air has rescheduled its relaunch plans for flights to the Serbian capital. The airline has announced intends on resuming its limited schedule to Belgrade starting next Friday, May 1 with operations from London Luton. Services will run three times per week during the first week, increasing to four weekly from May 11. Tickets have been put on sale. Initially, flights between the two were schedule to commence on May 15. Services will be maintained with the Airbus A321 aircraft. "As we restart selected Luton flights to provide an essential service to passengers who need to travel, our primary concern is the health, safety and well-being of our customers and crew. The protective measures that we are implementing will ensure the most sanitary conditions possible", Wizz Air UK managing director, Owain Jones, said. He added, "Cabin crew will have to wear masks and gloves on flights and distribute sanitising wipes to passengers. Aircraft will also be disinfected overnight. Customers will be asked to check in and make any additional payments for baggage online to help reduce human interaction at the airport".
Flights from Belgrade to Wizz Air’s remaining network of destinations are still scheduled to start on June 1. Services between Belgrade and London are operated with Wizz Air’s UK-based aircraft and crew. Serbian authorities have announced that commercial flights to and from the country will resume “around May 1” although no exact date has been given. The country is expected to be in complete lockdown during the May Day public holidays, however restrictions on freedom of movement, as well as the country’s state of emergency will likely be lifted during the first half of May. Currently, only Serbian citizens and foreigners with permanent or temporary residence permits are allowed to enter Serbia, although this is subject to change in the coming weeks.
Wizz Air’s CEO, Jozsef Varadi, is forecasting a phased return to flying starting in May. “We have four aircraft flying now. We are flying only 3% of capacity. On May 1 we’ll have about 10% of the fleet flying. I think we’ll start seeing some easing during the course of May or into June, I don’t know. What we do know is it is becoming unsustainable. Maybe at the end of May or sometime in June we’ll be at 30%”, the CEO said. He added, “Airlines won’t resume at the same pace. Some will pick up very quickly. Others will continue to be dragged down. My expectation is when we are able to start a market we can start at around 30% [capacity] and within two to three months we can ramp up to about 70%. It could be within five to six months we can be up to full capacity. Fares will be crushed. Very low fares will stimulate the market and people will travel. We’ll see younger people come back first and elderly people last - see leisure come back first and business travel last. Business travel is going to struggle”.
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