Wizz Air to announce Belgrade expansion today
Budget carrier Wizz Air will today announce plans to expand operations from its base at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. The airline is expected to station a third jet in the city and increase capacity on some existing services. Wizz Air CEO, Jozsef Varadi, will hold a press conference in the city at 13.00 CEST today. As recently reported, Wizz Air is significantly expanding its operations across Europe, with some 140 new routes scheduled to launch so far until the end of the year. The low cost carrier has already announced it will introduce services between Belgrade and Salzburg from July 2. The airline currently has two Airbus A320 aircraft based in the Serbian capital and maintains thirteen routes to seven countries. It was the first airline to resume operations from the city following the height of the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic, on May 18, and has since reinstated the majority of its Belgrade network, with the final two routes set to be reintroduced at the start of next month.
Wizz Air has seen its passenger numbers increase in Serbia during 2019 despite limited network growth throughout the year. The budget airline handled over 895.000 travellers on flights to and from Belgrade and Niš, representing an increase of 11.9% on 2018. It added over 95.000 passengers. The airline held an 11% passenger share in the country and was the busiest low cost carrier in Serbia in 2019 with over 50% of the market, well ahead of Ryanair in second place and easyJet in third. Furthermore, it was the second busiest airline in the country overall, behind only Air Serbia but ahead of Lufthansa. In January, Wizz Air carried its five-millionth passengers from Serbia since launching services to the country in 2010.
The low cost carrier previously said high airport costs and government protectionism of Air Serbia were preventing it from developing its Belgrade base. However, it also noted it would monitor policies set by airport operator VINCI before growing its operations. VINCI has said it will keep Belgrade's fees unchanged for the first three years of its 25-year concession, but it can make changes to the airport's incentive plan. Wizz Air noted, “We are satisfied with the results we have had in this past year in Belgrade, but also with the reception we have had since we opened our services in this important airport in the Balkans”.
This news item will be updated during the day.
0 Response to "Wizz Air to announce Belgrade expansion today"
Post a Comment