On Monday, Wizz Air announced that it will be halting its flights to Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, starting from March 14, citing concerns about the safety of the airspace. The decision was described by Moldova’s civil aviation authority as sudden and regrettable, Reuters reported.
However, the airline stated in a press release that it will provide alternative flights from Iasi, Romania, including a new service to Berlin, as well as additional flights to Barcelona, Milan Bergamo, Bologna, Rome Ciampino, Rome Fiumicino, Dortmund, Larnaca, London Luton, and Treviso.
According to Wizz Air, flights to Budapest and Prague will not have alternative flights and incoming flights to Chisinau will be redirected to other destinations within the Wizz Air network.
“Safety of the passengers and crew remain Wizz Air’s number one priority and following the recent developments in Moldova and the elevated, but not imminent, risk in the country’s airspace, Wizz Air has made the difficult but responsible decision to suspend all flights to Chisinau from the 14th of March,” it said.
On Wednesday, Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu stated that his country is ready to face a “full spectrum of threats” due to concerns that Russia may escalate efforts to destabilize Moldova, which is already struggling due to the ongoing conflict in neighboring Ukraine.
In the past few months, there has been a rise in tensions between Russia and Moldova, as Russian missiles targeting Ukraine have entered Moldova’s airspace. Additionally, authorities in Moldova have accused the Kremlin of exacerbating anti-government protests, an allegation that Russia denies.
Moldova’s civil aviation authority has disclosed that Wizz Air informed Moldovan authorities of its decision via email. The airline had requested approval for its summer flight schedule on February 14 and was granted approval on Monday.
“After analyzing the risks, government agencies have determined that flights in the national airspace can be carried out safely by following a number of procedures, and they regret Wizz Air’s sudden decision,” a post on the Moldovan government’s official Telegram channel said, as reported by the National Post.
