Summary
- Wizz Air will resume flights between London Luton Airport and Chisinau International Airport in Moldova.
- Flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, with fares starting from GBP17.99 for the 1,355-mile journey.
- The low-cost carrier suspended operations from the airport in February 2023, citing security concerns.
Wizz Air has announced that it would resume flights between London Luton Airport (LTN) and Chisinau International Airport (KIV), Moldova. According to the low-cost carrier, the route resumption shows “Wizz Air’s dedication to meeting the travel needs of its passengers,” with the route enabling travelers to “plan extended vacations, city breaks, or visit families.”
Reconnecting Chisinau
The airline pointed out that its flights between LTN and KIV would operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, with fares starting from GBP17.99 ($22.3) for the 1,355-mile (2,180 kilometer) journey eastwards. Meanwhile, the airport’s website announced that in addition to the flights to LTN, Wizz Air will also connect the Moldovan capital with Milan and Rome. Both flights will operate twice a week, with the flights to the two Italian cities also starting on December 14, 2023. The airport’s statement read,
“It should be noted that these cities of strategic importance will offer passengers the opportunity to create convenient connections through other intermediate points as well.”
Wizz Air suspended its operations from KIV citing security concerns of Moldova’s airspace in February 2023. At the time, the airline added that it would add extra flights to neighboring Romania’s Iasi to replace the temporarily removed services. Cirium data showed that between January and October 2022, Wizz Air operated 10,154 return flights between the United Kingdom (UK) and Romania, with the number increasing to 11,864 itineraries during the same period in 2023.
The carrier’s decision to suspend services came amidst reports of a Moldovan plan to destroy KIV’s runways to deter a potential invasion by Russia. Moldova, a neighbor of Ukraine, has been on high alert since Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine, including the preparation against a potential attack on its territory. Notably, Transnistria is a region that is part of Moldova, which the European Parliament (EP) called an “occupied Transnistria region of Moldova”.
Photo: Antonello Marangi | Shutterstock
Chisinau’s connectivity
In September 2022, Wizz Air announced that it would reopen its base at KIV. With three Wizz Air aircraft based at the airport, the low-cost carrier became “the largest operating airline accounting for 32% of the total capacity in Chisinau.” Other airlines operating from KIV to the UK includes two local low-cost carriers, FlyOne and HiSky. The former also has bases at two Romanian airports, Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport (OTP) and Cluj-Napoca International Airport (CLJ).
Photo: AlenKadr | Shutterstock
Both airlines only operate their respective UK flights to London, either LTN or London Stansted Airport (STN). Moldova’s other airline, Air Moldova, was grounded after the Moldovan Civil Aviation Authority (Autoritatea Aeronautică Civilă, CAA) suspended the flag carrier’s Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) in August 2023. At the time, the CAA argued that it revoked the AOC because the airline had no airworthy aircraft. Ch-aviation data showed that Air Moldova has a single inactive Airbus A320, registered as ER-AXA, which has been in storage at Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport (MPL), France, since February 2023.
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Wizz Air will benefit from the aircraft parking charge discount at Sofia Airport because it boasts a base of more than six aircraft there. Photo: Getty Images Wizz Air
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- W6/WZZ
- Airline Type:
- Ultra-Low-Cost Carrier
- Year Founded:
- 2003
- CEO:
- József Váradi
- Country:
- Hungary
