November 1 (SeeNews) - Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air will temporarily suspend operations at its base in Moldova's capital Chisinau as of December 1, the company said, as concerns over the security of the country's airspace mounted due to the war in neighbouring Ukraine.
"Following an in-depth risk assessment and considering the risks of closure of airspace in Moldova, we have adjusted our 2022-2023 winter schedule in Chisinau to ensure that it can be operated on a sustained basis. In order to minimize the general disruption for our customers in Moldova, we will switch to operating most of our inbound flights to Chisinau from other Wizz network bases starting December 1, 2022," the company said in a press release on Friday.
"With this temporary adjustment of the schedule, Wizz Air will suspend operations at Chisinau base as of December 1. We remain committed to the Moldovan market and our customers. As soon as we have the stability and certainty, we will reopen the base."
On Monday, Moldova's defence ministry said that missile debris landed in the northern village of Naslavcea after the Russian projectile was intercepted by the Ukrainian air defence. No one was reported hurt, but windows of several houses were broken, the ministry said in a press release.
On October 10, Moldova's defence minister Anatolie Nosatii announced that three Russian cruise missiles targeting Ukraine had crossed Moldova's airspace, endangering the country's infrastructure and, in particular, civilian aircraft flying in its airspace.
Starting December 1, Wizz Air will operate flights to Chisinau from Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the U.K, the company said in its press release. Flights from Chisinau to Paris Beauvais, Brussels Charleroi, Basel-Mulhouse and Turin will be suspended as of December 1.
Until November 30, Wizz will continue to operate flights from Chisinau to Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czechia, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Spain and the U.K. Wizz Air added that all its Chisinau pilots and cabin crew were given the opportunity to fly from other bases in the airline's network during the suspension of operations.
Wizz Air reopened its Chisinau base in September after temporarily moving it to the Iasi International Airport in eastern Romania following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Wizz Air started operations from Chisinau International Airport in 2014 and established a base there in 2016.