WIZZ AIR ESTABLISHES THE NEW BASE IN TIRANA
- The first aircraft is based on 1st of July in 2020
- 15 new destinations to eight countries to and from Tirana International Airport
Wizz Air established a new base in Tirana on 1 July 2020. The airline has already based the first aircraft Airbus A320 at Tirana International Airport. Along with the establishment of the new base and complementing the already operated ten routes, Wizz Air announced 15 new routes to eight countries from Tirana starting from July 2020, bringing the total to 25 destinations from Tirana International Airport. The two other aircraft are expected to arrive in two weeks’ time, the company announced.
“It is a very important day for us and hopefully Wizz Air will remain strong in the market while serving to many Albanians in different destinations. This means economic growth, new opportunities to travel and hope that borders will be open soon for all the Albanian citizens that would like to visit Europe and not only. Two more aircraft are expected to be based at TIA and this will be a good sign for a great restart of all our operations hopefully”, said Chief Operation Officer of Tirana International Airport, Mr. Volker Wendefeuer.
”We are delighted to celebrate the establishment of a new base in Tirana and the opening of new Wizz services from Tirana to 15 destinations in 8 European countries. With this exciting news, we continue to bring new affordable travel opportunities to Albanian passengers and stimulate tourism to Albania while ensuring the best possible sanitary conditions with our enhanced protective measures. Our investment will further stimulate the local economy, aviation and tourism sectors”, said George Michalopoulos, Chief Commercial Officer at Wizz Air.
The 3 Airbus A320 aircraft will support the operations of fifteen new routes to Beauvais (Paris), Charleroi (Brussels), Eindhoven, Mulhouse Euroairport, Karlsruhe/Baden-baden, Hamburg, Berlin Schönefeld, Frankfurt Hahn, Prague, Heraklion, Rhodes, Bari, Catania, Milan Malpensa and Torino, totalling in over 800 thousand seats on sale to 25 destinations from Tirana in 2020. Wizz Air’s growing Albanian network will support local tourism, bring more capital to the region as well as connect Tirana with new and exciting destinations.
The airline recently announced a range of enhanced hygiene measures, to ensure the health and safety of its customers and crew. As part of these new protocols, throughout the flight, both cabin crew and passengers are required to wear facemasks, with cabin crew also required to wear gloves.
Since the middle of March, after COVID-19, Tirana traffic was strongly reduced. But currently, the airport is serving from 12 to 16 flights per day, still under restrictions from the European Union related to the free movement.
WIZZ AIR CELEBRATES OPENING OF NEW BASE IN LVIV
Wizz Air celebrated the opening of its new base in Lviv, which will be the second and the newest WIZZ base in Ukraine. One based Airbus A320 aircraft at Danylo Halytskyi International Airport “Lviv” will enable operations of five services from Lviv to Billund in Denmark, Tallinn in Estonia, Lisbon in Portugal, Hamburg in Germany and Szczecin in Poland. Moreover, Wizz Air is further expanding its Ukrainian route network by opening flights from Kharkiv to Tallinn and Berlin.
By opening a new base and commencing new services, Wizz Air further underlines its commitment to the Ukrainian market and brings truly affordable air travel services to even more Ukrainian customers and the country’s visitors. Wizz Air started flying to Ukraine in 2008, and since then the airline has carried over 11 million passengers to and from Ukraine. Today’s announcement brings WIZZ’s investment in its Lviv base to over $100 million** in 2020. The airline’s continuous investment in Ukraine and the establishment of a new base in Lviv will create over 30 new jobs. This announcement brings all-time favourite European destinations even closer to passengers from Western and Eastern Ukraine offering in total 71 routes to 13 countries from five Ukrainian airports.
Passengers can be sure that discovering new places with Wizz Air is both comfortable and safe. As passenger and crew safety has always been WIZZ top priority, the airline has recently announced enhanced hygiene measures to support physical distancing during boarding and enhanced cleanliness on board. As part of these new protocols, throughout the flight, both cabin crew and passengers are required to wear facemasks; and cabin crew is also required to wear gloves. Wizz Air’s aircraft are regularly put through an industry-leading fogging process with an antiviral solution. Moreover, by following WIZZ’s stringent daily cleaning schedule, all of the airline’s aircraft are further disinfected overnight with the same antiviral solution. Sanitising wipes are handed to each passenger upon entering the aircraft; onboard magazines have been removed from the aircraft; and any onboard purchases are encouraged to be made by contactless payment. Passengers are requested to follow physical distancing measures introduced by the local health authorities and are encouraged to make all purchases prior to the flight online (e.g. checked in luggage, WIZZ Priority, fast security track), to minimize any possible physical contact at the airport. Click here to view Wizz Air’s new health and safety video, for more information.
By adding WIZZ Flex to a booking, passengers can rest assured that if circumstances change, or they simply wish to travel on a different date, or to a different destination, they can rebook on any WIZZ flight of their choice. Providing that extra layer of protection for passenger bookings, is a peace of mind during these uncertain times.
Speaking at the press conference in Lviv, Andras Sebok, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Wizz Air said: ”Remaining committed to the Ukrainian market, today we are delighted to celebrate the establishment of a new base in Lviv and the opening of new WIZZ services from Lviv, the cultural capital of Ukraine, and Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv to 5 European countries: Denmark, Estonia, Portugal, Germany and Poland. With this exciting news, we continue to bring new affordable travel opportunities to Ukrainian passengers while ensuring the best possible sanitary conditions with our enhanced protective measures. We believe that such base investment and launch of these newest routes will further stimulate the local economy, aviation and tourism sectors”.
Tetyana Romanovska, CEO at Danylo Halytskyi International Airport “Lviv” noted: “Today we have a double holiday: the opening of five new routes by Wizz Air and of a base with Airbus A320 aircraft. For three years, Wizz Air has been a leader in opening new European destinations and in the volume of passengers transported from Lviv. In 2019, Wizz Air carried about half a million passengers. Starting from today we will have 17 destinations from Lviv to various cities in Europe. We are very thankful to Wizz Air, which was the first to open flights from Lviv during the crisis. Now the airline does not only resume the existing directions but also increases the route network. Today I congratulate all of us on five new destinations from Lviv to the following destinations: Hamburg, Tallinn, Billund, Lisbon, Szczecin and Budapest. We are waiting for the opening of Europe for Ukrainian tourists in July.”
* One-way price, including taxes, administration and other non-optional charges. One carry-on bag (max: 40x30x20cm) is included. Trolley bag and each piece of checked-in baggage is subject to additional fees. The price applies only to bookings made on wizzair.com and the WIZZ mobile app.
