At the beginning of September of this year, the airline company Wizz Air withdrew one base plane from the Tuzla International Airport, and tomorrow the withdrawal of another should follow. The management of the airport and the Government of Tuzla Canton are working to overcome this problem, and its solution has been in sight since November.
Of the possible fifteen routes and more than 30 weekly flights to Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands, most of them have been cancelled. Until November 1, the airline company Wizz Air will operate on four destinations for which they have profitability, while from November 1, that number will be reduced to three routes.
“Until the end of September, Memmingham, Frankfurt, Dortmund, Basel and Eindhoven remain. Until November 1, until the end of the summer flight schedule, these four destinations will remain except Eindhoven, and from November 1. three destinations remain from the winter flight schedule”, says Dževad Halilčević, director of Tuzla International Airport.
As the main reasons for this step, Wizz Air cites the changing economic environment, as well as the operational challenges caused by the weather conditions in the region. As they state, Wizz Air will use this situation for further development, by redistributing its capacities to other destinations with greater economic profitability.
“We have to work hard to quickly find an alternative carrier, to satisfy at least 50 percent of the part of our passengers and destinations that currently remains uncovered during the winter period,” Halilčević points out.
The Wizz Air company withdrew one base plane from the Tuzla International Airport on September 1, and according to announcements, it should withdraw the other one tomorrow. However, the management of Tuzla International Airport is already in negotiations with two new companies, one of which should have one base plane in Tuzla.
However, it seems that the reason for the withdrawal of Wizz Air is not of an economic nature, since most of the flights in the planes are full, as the records show. Thus, more than 140 thousand passengers were transported in July and August. For this and other reasons, even the Government of Tuzla Canton does not observe this situation silently.
“The position of the Government of Tuzla Canton and the line ministry is that we should definitely be with Tuzla Airport. We will not leave this to chance, we are working hard to overcome the situation”, says Denis Bećirović, Minister of Trade, Tourism and Transport of Tuzla Canton (DF).
The positive trend in the operations of the Tuzla International Airport contributed to the development of tourism in the Tuzla Canton, while the local communities recorded significant economic development. We will find out in the coming period whether the departure of Wizz Air will collapse the long-term efforts of management and local authorities.
