Ljubljana, Zagreb and Pristina on Wizz Air’s radar
Low cost carrier Wizz Air, which has bases in Belgrade, Skopje and Tuzla in the former Yugoslavia, could soon be expanding further in the region with new opportunities arising in Ljubljana, Zagreb and Pristina. The budget carrier maintains limited services to the Slovenian capital but has shown interest in launching new routes, with the airline to add flights from Skopje to Ljubljana in November. On January 25, Wizz Air’s Network Development Manager, Airport Development Manager and Public Affairs Manager held talks with the Slovenian Ministry for Economic Development and Technology, as well as the Ministry for Infrastructure over the potential introduction of flights to the country utilising the recently adopted subsidy program. “Due to operational needs in the event of a decision to establish scheduled international flights to an international airport in Slovenia, Wizz Air wanted to obtain information about the state aid scheme to be provided to carriers for the start of new routes”, the government said. The public call to airlines for the provision of subsidies for the launch of new routes from Slovenia came to a close yesterday. The applicants will not be made public until selected. Wizz Air currently maintains operations from Ljubljana to London Luton.
Zagreb Airport’s Connecting Capital Cities Incentive Model will come into force next month, providing a range of discounts for the launch of up to sixteen routes. Wizz Air used to maintain services to the Croatian capital from Dortmund and London but terminated its operations to the city in 2011. It is believed the budget carrier showed renewed interest in the city following Ryanair’s decision to open a base. Wizz Air’s CEO, Jozsef Varadi, previously said Zagreb Airport was too expensive for the airline. “Zagreb is a high-priced airport environment with fluctuating demand. If Zagreb Airport becomes more reasonable, we will certainly consider that airport as an opportunity for expanding our network", Mr Varadi said at the time.
Wizz Air was Pristina Airport’s busiest airline in 2022, handling 414.478 passengers. The carrier outperformed its pre-pandemic traffic levels by 63.6%, as it handled 253.282 passengers in 2019. Wizz Air maintains seven routes out of Pristina. Last year, Wizz Air’s President, Robert Carey, said, “We will handle over 600.000 Kosovo passengers next year, which will make us the largest airline here. We will maintain services to the likes of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. It is very important for us that travellers from Kosovo, but also those from nearby markets, fly with Wizz Air when they need to”. He added, “Part of our job is to add as many new destinations as possible. We hope to build a base here in the future”. Travel from Pristina is expected to get a further boost next year as much of the European Union abolishes visa requirements for Kosovo passport holders on January 1.
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