Wizz Air suspends Tuzla - Sandefjord flights

Wizz Air cuts first destination from Tuzla

Wizz Air has suspended flights between Tuzla and Sandefjord (Torp Airport) in Norway just five months after the service was launched. The last flight operated two days ago, on Sunday, November 29, and ticket sales have been terminated. It marks the first destination to be cut from Wizz Air's route network out of Tuzla since the airline introduced flights from the city in 2013 and based an aircraft there this June. Tine Kleive-Mathisen, Torp Airport's Marketing Manager, told EX-YU Aviation News that the service is unlikely to resume next summer either. "We have received information from Wizz Air that they will not operate the route from November 29. This meaning not in the winter season and, as it looks now, not in the coming summer season either", Ms Kleive-Mathisen said.

The low cost airline maintained two weekly flights on the route, each Wednesday and Sunday. It is not the first time that Wizz Air's operations from the former Yugoslavia to Sandefjord have proven unsuccessful. In 2013, the airline also discontinued services from Belgrade to the Norwegian city just five months following its launch, citing high seasonality for poor loads. Wizz Air's flights from Skopje to Sandefjord, launched in late June, continue to be maintained. Norwegian Air Shuttle will connects Bosnia and Herzegovina and Norway with its one weekly service from Sarajevo to Oslo's main international airport - Gardermoen. Over the coming months, Wizz Air will cut down on its frequencies on some routes from Tuzla but will also add additional services during the Christmas and New Year holiday period.

Tuzla Airport initially struggled to attract airlines and passengers when it opened its doors for commercial use in 1998. However, its fortunes turned in 2013 when Wizz Air launched its first service from Malmo. Flights quickly proved popular and the no frills airline expanded its network. It is currently the only commercial airline serving Bosnia and Herzegovina's second busiest airport on a year-long basis and has fuelled its spectacular passenger growth over the past two years. However, on December 21, Montenegro Airlines will join Wizz and launch flights from Vienna to Tuzla. During the first ten months of 2015, Tuzla Airport continued to see its passenger numbers grow with 219.185 travellers handled, an increase of 74.7% compared to the same period last year. It has already overtaken 2014's end-of-year result. The airport initially planned to handle some 200.000 travellers this year, although this figure has now been surpassed.