WIZZ AIR AIMS FOR RESTART OF UKRAINE FLIGHTS – An estimated six to eight weeks is needed to safely reopen Ukrainian airspace
Wizz Air aims to restart flights to Ukraine shortly after the announcement of any ceasefire with Russia, reinstating about 30 inbound routes within six weeks, Chief Executive Jozsef Varadi has disclosed.
Varadi said the European Union Aviation Safety Agency estimates it would need six to eight weeks to safely reopen Ukrainian airspace and Wizz Air was getting ready for that.
U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to bring a swift end to the nearly three-year war in Ukraine and contacts between Russia and the U.S. have intensified, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there was nothing more to add for now.
Within six months of the conflict ending, Wizz Air would restart operating bases in Kyiv and Lviv, Varadi said, initially aiming to supply an annualised capacity of about 5 million seats a year to the Ukrainian market across 60 routes.
Wizz Air cut its annual net income forecast for the second time in six months in January, as it grapples with rising costs related to the grounding of some 20% of its fleet due to engine problems and economic uncertainties.
However, Varadi expects the economic outlook to improve and for capacity to increase by about 20% in the 2025 fiscal year on the expected delivery of 50 new Airbus aircraft between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026.
