Low cost carrier Wizz Air will commence operations to Banja Luka from four European cities with two weekly flights each from Dortmund, Basel, Eindhoven and Malmo. Services will begin from June 3. Wizz Air will be the second low cost carrier to serve Banja Luka after Ryanair, which has temporarily suspended all operations to the city until mid May due to the coronavirus pandemic. It also plans to launch a new route to the city from Vienna in June. Wizz Air's entry into Banja Luka will come at the same time Ryanair begins services to Zagreb, from which it will open a base in September.

Banja Luka will become Wizz Air's third destination in Bosnia and Herzegovina after Tuzla and Sarajevo, both of which serve as the airline's base. The low cost carrier will commence operations from Dortmund to Banja Luka on June 3, Basel on June 6, as well as Eindhoven and Malmo on June 7. Tickets are already on sale through the airline's website. As a result, Basel, Eindhoven and Dortmund will be served by Wizz from all three cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Malmo will be operated from both Tuzla and Banja Luka.

Banja Luka Airport handled 43.904 passengers in 2020, representing a decrease of 70.7% on the year before. However, this was 3.9% better than we expected by the airport’s management. The airport previously noted, “Prior to the coronavirus crisis we discussed the possibility of an airline opening a base in Banja Luka. We will see what will happen after the pandemic. We also had discussions over the launch of an intercontinental service, and after this situation passes, we hope to resume those talks. A Turkish carrier is also interested in cooperating with Banja Luka Airport. For us, it was important to open up to the world in 2019 and for some flights to begin. We must now seek out new airlines and partners and expand our destination network”.

UPDATE: Wizz Air adds fifth new Banja Luka service