Wizz Air announces Sarajevo and Tuzla expansion


Low cost carrier Wizz Air has announced the launch of nine new routes from its bases in Sarajevo and Tuzla today. These include seven new destinations from Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital and two from the country's third largest city. The budget airline will introduce operations from Sarajevo to Billund, Cologne, Hahn, Hamburg, Malmo, Sandefjord and Treviso, complementing nine existing routes, which will also be joined by Wizz Air Abu Dhabi's service in October. The nine new additions will commence in mid-December and operate twice per week, with exception to Cologne and Malmo which will run three times per week. As a result, Wizz will base its second aircraft in the city. At the same time, the airline has shelved plans to commence operations between Sarajevo and London in November but will increase frequencies to Copenhagen, Dortmund, Eindhoven, Memmingen, Gothenburg and Stockholm from mid-December, when the second aircraft arrives.

Destination Launch date
Treviso 14.12.2021
Malmo 14.12.2021
Hahn 14.12.2021
Cologne 15.12.2021
Sandefjord 15.12.2021
Hamburg 16.12.2021
Billund 17.12.2021
Click link for details

On the other hand, Wizz will add a further two routes from its Tuzla base, complementing fifteen existing services. New routes will be added to Milan Malpensa Airport and Nuremberg. Wizz Air has grown significantly out of Bosnia and Herzegovina this year, with the launch of its Sarajevo base, as well as services from Banja Luka. However, Wizz Air has stagnated with its Tuzla operations in recent years. Today’s expansion will be officially announced at a press conference at 16.00 CEST by the airline’s President Robert Carey, the newly appointed acting General Manager of Tuzla Airport, Meris Šabanović, and the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Transport of the Tuzla Canton government, Hamza Bešić.

Destination Launch date
Nuremberg 14.12.2021
Milan 17.12.2021
Click link for details

Wizz Air’s CEO. Jozsef Varadi, visited Bosnia and Herzegovina last month. He said, “Bosnia and Herzegovina has held up well against the pandemic. It was flexible and resilient during the crisis and performed stronger than most traditional European markets in which Wizz Air operates. There were measures introduced by the government, but there was movement of people. More people travelled from Bosnia and Herzegovina than other countries. We believe Bosnia is a good market to invest in. There are a lot of investment prospects, as well as opportunities to bring more airlines into the country and launch new routes. We will be seeing that in the coming months”. He added, “This, combined with all the development I see going on, encourages us to think of what’s next in terms of increasing the number of aircraft, employees and services. That is something we are working on and I am pretty sure that Bosnia and Herzegovina can be a winner in all of this”.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:03

    Of course. This was the price for blocking FR.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:05

    Wizz Air is in full state of chaos. Fired too many "bad apples", and now they are wet leasing other aircraft while a large part of their fleet is parked.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23:01

      Wizz Air is leasing aircrafts becouse of the lack of cabin crew. They have one wet leased A321 deployed at SKP base becouse there isnt much crew. Some of them are on summer holidays while some other quited the job. They also retired 21 FA from SKP base last year due to the pandemic. Among the leased A321, WizzAir has 5 Airbus A321 aircraft and one A320 which is flying to Dortmund only.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous08:08

      I do not understand where are most of these old crew? Didn't they want to come back? I am sure they called them to come back and work for them.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:05

    Bosnia has been performing very well this year.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous09:06

    Excellent news. I'm guessing a third aircraft and around 5 new routes.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:06

    wow well done

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:08

    Expect only more frequencies on current destination

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous09:08

    Fantastic news

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:09

    Wizz please start flights from Mostar!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:10

      That airport is a lost cause.

      Delete
    2. Management of airport with almost all people working there are incapable.

      Delete
    3. Can you elaborate? I am very interested in this point of view.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:11

    Tuzla Airport really will be handling a million passengers eventually.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:13

      It is possible.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:12

    Finally. They have really been stagnating for a while.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:12

    Well now we know why Ryan was blocked, CEo of Tuzla fired etc...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous09:13

    Meanwhile, Wizz announced yesterday the sixth aircraft based on Tirana just a year after opening the base.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous09:18

    When could we see the new routes introduced?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous09:20

    I wish Tuzla would diversify its offer and get another airline to start flights. They really had a good opportunity with Ryanair.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agree. Wizz did good job but is still one company. They need competition for growth.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:20

    For me personally, and given its size and population, BiH definitely has a special status. At least 4 operational airports and 3 of which are bases. SJJ is with no doubt the Gulf carriers leader. Well done and well worked!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:21

    How many routes does W6 currently have from Tuzla?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:23

      It says in the article.

      "The airline currently maintains fifteen routes to six countries from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s third largest city."

      Delete
  17. Anonymous09:21

    Also adding one more A321 in Tirana, new 5 routes and increasing a few existing. But it is obvious that Wizz has a lot operational problems, some routes decrising in September and than return in October

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous09:22

    I think Paris Beauvais could work for them.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous09:22

    Anyone know what their busiest route out of TZL is?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:29

      I believe it is Malmo.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:15

      Actually, I think it is Dortmund or Basel. German gasto market is strongest.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous09:30

    Good work Tuzla.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous09:30

    More gasterbaiter routes coming.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:33

      What else do you expect? Wizz just replaces bus routes - almost everywhere in ex-Yu.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous09:33

    With so many aircraft on order Wizz will have to keep expanding, ex-Yu market included.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous09:36

    Germany & Sweden are well covered from TZL. My guess that they may launch LTN, BVA & BGY and increase existing destinations with higher demand.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:37

      I agree. Those routes seem plausible.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:38

      But Wizz failed on Luton route from Tuzla. LF was low for Wizz standards. Don't see what has changed since.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous09:40

    Bravo Bosna!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous09:51

    I don't understand why they would resume Oslo and London when they were underperforming badly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:56

      They have to start some and there aren't any better ones.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous09:52

    It will work out if they can find pilots to fly the aircraft...

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous09:52

    Well done Tuzla and Bosnia, what a transformation in just a couple of years on the Bosnian market :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:06

      This airport does not get enough credit for the results it has achieved over the past few years.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:13

      What credit? They would be credited if they actually called Wizz Air's bluff and allowed FR to move in. Like this they got their bribes and forced Wizz to add more routes while the government pays for it all.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous09:52

    Good work Tuzla.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous10:02

    I wish Wizz Air would grow a pair and actually move away from gasto routes like they did in Belgrade with Heraklion and Santorini.
    I would love for them to add routes like BEG-LJU or BEG-OHD, LJU-SKP and so on. There would be enough demand at least on a summer seasonal basis.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:33

      I think next year they might try some holiday destinations from SKP especially HER.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous10:05

    Fantastic for Tuzla. So happy to see this small airport with no traffic a few years ago develop in such a way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:27

      While I agree with you that it's great for the general public and tourism as well, you have to wonder how great it is for the airport and whether they make any money out of it. That's why they should have let Ryanair start flights and made things more competitive.

      Delete
  31. Anonymous10:05

    Congrats Tuzla.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous10:06

    Is Tuzla canton still subsidizing Wizz flights?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:13

      Of course. Wizz Air doesn't pay anything to the airport - all costs are covered by Tuzla Canton.

      Delete
  33. Anonymous10:14

    Excellent news for Tuzla and aviation in Bosnia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:15

      It has been a good year so far in Bosnian aviation with so many new routes opened to Sarajevo and Banja Luka. It is also good to see Sarajevo with good passenger numbers.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:25

      I hope they expand from BNX as well. They are sending A321 on all flights.

      Delete
  34. Anonymous10:24

    Ljubljana should offer Wizzair some deal to get new flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fraport got 5mio state aid last year to mitigate the consequences of pandemics. Of course the aid was understood as a pure financial transaction just to cover the HYPOTHETICAL financial lose. I would have understood all this if FRAPORT had proven that their financial report for 2020 was negative, but no, FRAPORT will even make PROFIT with the aid they got. INSANE.

      If the gov was a bit smarter, they would have bounded Fraport to use this money to bring/keep new carriers/routes. But no, the gov is rather sponsoring a german company to make profit. And do not forget there is only one goal Fraport has in LJU, and it is CARGO. LJU will see some development only if triggered by carriers themselves.

      If the gov was even smarter, they would have given this some money to the carriers and this way you have a double effect - you help FRAPORT and you help your own economy (with better air connectivity). Win, win. The money spills over from carriers to the airport and you keep economies connected.

      So the gov made a crucial mistake to give money to the last link in the chain, so you have no further multiplication of the money invested, no indirect beneficts. Not really smart I guess.

      Do not count on FRAPORT to pay Wizzair to come here.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:09

      If your government were really smart they wouldn't sell the airports in the first place.

      Delete
    3. No doubt about that. How can someone be so damn stupid that you sell the most basic infrastructure?

      Delete
  35. Anonymous10:27

    Have no idea why is everyone so excited about Wizz's new routes. They are a terrible airline.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous10:28

    This is good news for Bosnia's economy, tourism and of course the gastos that can afford to come back home.

    ReplyDelete
  37. It would have been a much wiser decision to have some flights depart from OSI, who desperately needs them. And Wizz OSI-BSL was really full to the brim every time I was on board (20+ times).

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous11:00

    When is the press conference?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:15

      It says 4pm in the article.

      Delete
  39. Anonymous11:15

    Bad news for bus companies coming.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous11:37

    I thought they would concentrate on Sarajevo?
    Now they will again take away a lot of passengers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:20

      The most important thing is to introduce different lines from Sarajevo, Tuzla and Banja Luka

      Delete
  41. Anonymous12:26

    wow amazing work Sarajevo. Second aircraft and 9 new routes. Did not see that coming.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Anonymous12:27

    At this rate, Sarajevo will have a better year than 2019.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anonymous12:27

    Sarajevo finally getting European destinations! Fantastic news.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Anonymous12:41

    This is huge. Well done Sarajevo. Now in addition to big Mid East network it has a big European network :)

    ReplyDelete
  45. Anonymous12:42

    Sve ovo treba dobro istraziti. Nista se ovdje nije slucajno desilo nego na principu ''pola meni - pola tebi'' Zato se i mijenjaju direktori i odbijaju nove musterije, a FR nije bilo kakva musterija.
    Sto se tice Sarajeva i novih linija, pola njih nikakve veze nema, pogotovo Billund, Hahn, Hamburg, Sandefjord. Kome trebaju statisticki podaci za BLL, OSL, HHN, mogu pokazati u usporedbi sa CPH, OSL i FRA. Sandefjord je sezonska linija 2 mjeseca i dosta bi bilo polupraznih aviona. Jos da napomenem CGN i Eurowings, tu ce biti frke kao i na HHN/FRA ali je dobra ideja nadmetanja.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:56

      +1, I think that service to Italy won't do good either, we don't have big diaspora there, especially in north.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:27

      Over 20,000 Bosnians and Herzegovinians live in Italy, and annually Bosnia and Herzegovina is visited by over 60,000 tourists from Italy. The line will definitely pay off

      Delete
    3. And why flights to Mostar by that Italian airline owned by the Post never took off properly?

      Delete
  46. Anonymous12:42

    Wizz and Ryan are competing who is going to expand more quickly, one from Sarajevo the other from Zagreb :D

    ReplyDelete
  47. Anonymous12:43

    At least Sarajevo and Tuzla get an expansion.
    In Belgrade we still wait for the expansion Wizz announced last year...

    ReplyDelete
  48. Wizz will expand in Beogradu when they are ready financially. BEG is not a " county airport" and it is a hub for a major airline.

    ReplyDelete
  49. What a nonsense - introducing Hamburg instead of returning Berlin???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:25

      Well there was probably a reason Berlin didn't work out.

      Delete
    2. Berlin did not work out? Wow. Thats a surprise. Berlin has a huge diaspora. How was the schedule?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:34

      The Sarajevo-Berlin route was canceled for the first time because airberlin went bankrupt, and Eurovings canceled for the second time, due to coronavirus

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:45

      But Berlin was downgraded to seasonal before corona
      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/12/eurowings-downgrades-berlin-sarajevo.html

      Delete
    5. Wizz Air cancelled Berlin from Sarajevo before it even started properly

      Delete
  50. Anonymous15:12

    Not sure if all these routes will work out, particularly in winter months. But good luck

    ReplyDelete
  51. Anonymous15:25

    Wouldn't it make more sense to start Sarajevo-Milan instead of Tuzla-Milan?

    ReplyDelete
  52. Anonymous15:26

    People should take into account that Wizz will probably cancel one or two routes before they launch. They do that all the time. Same as Sarajevo-London.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Anonymous15:26

    Still no Spain :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, no Barcelona :-( And no Rome

      Delete
    2. Anonymous02:03

      Poco a poco (step by step) just like Spanish say. At least SJJ received a HUGE number of European routes.

      Delete
  54. Anonymous15:33

    Seems the Tuzla flights are being operated by non-Tuzla based plane.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Anonymous15:34

    What idiots in Tuzla. So they gave up 5 Ryanair routes for two Wizz Air routes that will probably be canceled or turned seasonal within a year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:34

      Someone lined their pockets. That's most important.

      Delete
  56. Anonymous17:19

    Sarayevo AND Tuzla?
    Thats one airport too much!
    Better concentrate on the capital of the country and not the village.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:51

      Tuzla ima 200.000 stanovnika, i nema potrebe da sve ide iz Sarajeva, kada u Bosni i Hercegovini mogu komotno raditi sve 4 aerodroma i biti profitabilni

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:19

      Village?? There are 450.000 people in and around Tuzla with close proximity to Serbia and Croatia as well as potential base for additional passengers. What are you talking about?? Nonsene.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:28

      ^He is right!
      Tuzla is cannibalizing SJJ. Foreigners prefer Sarajevo with more frequencies and not Tuzla which is famous for nothing.
      People have to understand that gastos are not enough to fill a plane - you also need foreign tourists.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous18:43

      If people prefer Sarajevo then how is Tuzla ''cannibalizing'' them?

      Delete
    5. I personally will never fly either from Tuzla or Banja Luka, because roads to both places are disgusting. It is a pity Mostar is not being developed as a "reserve" airport for Sarajevo - e.g. when Sarajevo is shut in winter due to fog. There is a railway line passing by directly next to Mostar airport, and the road to there is fine.

      Delete
    6. The question is, where do you live. Banja Luka is connected with 2 highways, to the north and east. Another to the west to Prijedor is going to construct soon.

      Delete
  57. Anonymous17:55

    Could Turku work too?

    ReplyDelete
  58. Anonymous18:43

    What a Paradox - people are complaining about extra flights/connections from "relatively financially poor" Bosnia while at the same time some other people are complaining about absolute no flights/connections from "relatively financially wealthy" Slovenia!!!!
    Very strange world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:58

      Tuzla has same number of destinations offered as LJU. And it has like 2x more passengers lol.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:48

      "And it has like 2x more passengers"

      That is because of emigration in the last 30 years. Its not good but neither it is bad, it is just facts.
      But I am talking about the paradox that in so called free-market economy of last 30 years you have paradox of having very limited flights in economy that is per GDP bigger multiple times the Bosnia's economy. I am not against flight from Tuzla, but neither I am for these flights. I am just pointing to paradox.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous23:09

      Slovenia never had mass emigration due to incompetent governance and foreign aggression (apart from 10 days, which they won) it is a wealthy country. LJU suffers mostly from being surrounded by other airports and the fact the country has a very good road network.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous00:12

      Other surrounding Airports are in OTHER countries. EU IS NOT a country. So it is a Paradox that a country in so called "free-market" capitalism not only does not have Airline but does not control even the important connections that are important for overall economy.
      Having a good Road network is fine to some extent for cheap packaged holidays in Mallorca over the couple summer months but otherwise it is useless for any serious country Air connectivity'

      Delete
  59. Anonymous22:04

    So someone at TZL airport got rich blocking FR so that W6 could launch 2 new routes? How will W6 cope when SJJ is closed for days at a time due to fog in the winter?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23:04

      Last year there was not much fog and it lasted only 15 days, and the KS government is working to get people to switch to the so-called: green heating, to reduce fog

      Delete
  60. Anonymous00:15

    SO SAD FOR LONDON THERE ARE MANY BOSNIANS IN LONDON AND MANY PEOPLE IN UK WHO WANTS TO VISIT SARAJEVO. HUGE MISTAKE WIZZAIR.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. absolutely why they didnt gave chance to London?

      Delete
  61. Anonymous02:10

    BiH did a great job this year, tbh. They managed to capture the radar and attention of the big LCC European boys. Can't wait for the traffic charts by the end of the year.
    ZAG also did an amazing job with the FR agressive expansion. Finally SJJ and ZAG will be more cheaper to visit and accessible from more parts of Europe.

    ReplyDelete

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