Wizz to cancel eight EX-YU routes as Ryanair launches rescue fares

Wizz Air is continuing to struggle with the grounding of its aircraft as a result of Pratt & Whittney engine issues on new-generation jets, forcing the airline to temporarily cancel dozens of routes during the 2024 summer season, which begins on March 31, and reduce planned frequencies across its network. The microscopic pollution found inside certain engine types requires the airline to take aircraft out of service and dismantle the engine in order for the issue to be resolved. The process usually takes up to forty days per engine, with the budget carrier estimating the procedure will last over the next eighteen months. Although the airline has begun receiving compensation from the engine manufacturer, some 45 aircraft are currently grounded, while new deliveries will be unable to mitigate the impact. As a result, Wizz Air’s Skopje base will operate with five instead of six aircraft this summer, while its Belgrade operation will be maintained by three instead of four jets.

Wizz Air will temporarily cancel its flights from Skopje to Luxembourg, launched late last year, its seasonal service from Belgrade to Zakynthos introduced last summer, flights from Ljubljana to London Luton, from Niš to Vienna and Dortmund, as well as from Dubrovnik to Vienna. London Luton and Krakow. Frequencies on its original plan will be reduced across the board, impacting operations from almost all cities it flies to in the former Yugoslavia. However, the frequency reductions are not as severe when compared to the 2023 summer and primarily reflect a divergence on the planned increase in flights the carrier was to implement this year. The airline will go ahead with the introduction of its new three weekly service between Skopje and Salzburg, which it is launching in response to a state tender it won for the introduction of new routes from Macedonia.

Wizz Air’s largest competitor has already responded with Ryanair launching rescue fares for impacted passengers. In a statement, the airline said, “Ryanair yet again saves the day as Wizz Air cuts its routes, with a further 21 routes to/from Hungary, Romania, Luxembourg, Serbia, and Slovenia cut in addition to nineteen Polish routes cut just last week. As Europe’s most reliable and low fare airline, we will be happy to welcome Wizz Air passengers on our regular flights, including from Niš to Vienna, from just €19.99”. Further frequency changes remain possible as Wizz Air continues to deal the impact of its aircraft grounding, announced as early as last September. Wizz Air noted, “All affected customers have been informed. Passengers who have already purchased tickets have several options. You can either book another flight, get a 100% refund of the ticket price or benefit from a 120% credit from Wizz Air”.