Wizz Air will reopen its base at Tuzla Airport this September, two years after it was closed, with plans to station two aircraft and launch nine new routes. The airline will introduce services to Hamburg, Beauvais, Cologne, Malmo, Gothenburg, Berlin, Charleroi and Hahn. These routes will complement flights to Vienna, which begin this Sunday. The new additions will expand Wizz Air’s existing network from Tuzla, which currently includes Basel, Memmingen and Dortmund. This expansion follows a public call for airline subsidies, for which Wizz Air was the sole applicant. The Tuzla Canton government has allocated 615.000 euros in subsidies for the first year of operations (2025), with annual funding increasing to one million euros between 2026 and 2028. Under the agreement, Wizz Air will receive six euros per arriving passenger on the newly launched routes.
Wizz Air closed its base in Tuzla in September 2023, citing supply chain issues and persistent winter fog, which led to "compromises in planned aircraft utilisation and an above-average number of diversions". At the time, the airline discontinued twelve routes. Of the nine being launched this year, six were previously operated in 2023. These include Berlin, Cologne, Gothenburg, Hahn, Malmo and Vienna. However, several former destinations, including Billund, Eindhoven, Friedrichshafen, Baden Baden, Nuremberg and Stockholm Skavsta are not being reinstated at this time.
Commenting on the planned reopening of Wizz Air’s base, Tuzla Canton’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Transport, Almir Žilić, said, "This confirms that our support model is working and that the return of Wizz Air, along with the launch of new routes, will help us achieve our strategic goals". Wizz Air commenced operations from Tuzla in 2013 and opened a base in the city in 2015, becoming the first and only low cost carrier to do so in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to Wizz Air, Tuzla is also served by Pegasus Airlines and AJet, both operating flights from Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport.
Bravo! This would be amazing for Ljubljana. Millions of unused subsidies money could be used in this way, would be way better.
ReplyDeleteWizz Air is back… until the next fog rolls in
Delete^ 😂😂😂😂
DeleteGreat news for Tuzla. Hope Ryanair will respond from Banja Luka. Competition now starts
DeleteTickets to HHN are not in the system yet.
ReplyDeleteNone of the flights launching in September are on sale yet. Should be soon.
DeleteAnd the others are?
DeleteRead the article, not just comments and you will find out....
DeleteGreat news for Tuzla.
ReplyDeleteWell playes Wizz. From non subsidised flights to subsidised services within 2 years.
ReplyDeleteThats their game , get government money...
DeleteTypical Wizz tactic , first close and after 2 years come back with government money in the pocket :D
ReplyDeletegood for them, good for regular people that don't have need to fly with flag carrier..
DeleteRyanair is not better
DeleteYes but without flag carrier u cannot make any connections , this is just for gasto people , not regular , regular people exactly need connections.
DeleteCan someone explain to me whather this will impact any airport in BiH in terms of competition? I don't know the geography of the country so well so just curious.
ReplyDeleteIn some way yes , this addition will especially grab passengers that currently using Sarajevo as a point , now those living in that area of the country will use Tuzla airport ,instead of traveling all way to SJJ.
DeleteInteresting. Let's see if Ryanair responds from Sarajevo.
DeleteHopefully with a base in SJJ.
DeleteRyanair will be far cheaper for Gothenburg, the other competing routes are Charleroi and Beauvais, I could see Tuzla winning the Charleroi one but Paris demand is far higher in the capital.
Delete@Anonymous 09:33
DeleteThe only non UK/EU country that FR has opened a base is Morocco.
They will not open a base in SJJ for now , they didnt show any intetest for that.
Delete^ do you make things up as you go?
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/03/ryanair-considering-sarajevo-base.html
The fog has cleared over Tuzla :D
ReplyDeleteThe fog cost 1 million eur in Wizz pocket :D
DeleteNext up, Ljubljana
ReplyDeleteOr maybe Podgorica?
DeleteDoubt it will be either.
DeleteWondering if this will be A320s or A321s based in TZL.
ReplyDeleteA320
DeleteThanks
DeleteThe tender specified at least 180 seats, so A320. If it was A321 it would probably be at least 210 lol
DeleteA321 would be too much
DeleteWizz is not flying to Koln , they suspend that airport since last year.
ReplyDeleteIt says they will introduce it, not that they are flying there.
DeleteWizz suspend all network to Koln , it will introduce only to fly out from Tuzla ?
DeleteIt is likely they will introduce from other airports too.
DeleteThats wierd. They leave Koln because of too expensive taxes. Let see if that will happend.
DeleteThey also left Tuzla because of fog but here we are.
DeleteI’ve lost count of how many times Wizz has pulled out and returned.
DeleteWizz flies or flew to Bremen only from Skopje from this region, not even BUD had that connection.. so it is not impossible that Tuzla gets Koln.
DeleteThe routes listed are not speculation. They were announced yesterday by the Tuzla Canton Toruist board which is officially the one giving the subsidies. So these are not guesses, these are the routes being launched, Cologne included.
DeleteIt is not about speculation. Wizz exactly last Octomber announced that they are leaving Koln which they did. They are not operating from Koln. That is weird for me
Delete.
And they will introduce it now with one route from Tuzla. Don't understand why to you are so shocked.
Delete10:23 Wizz still flies Skopje-Bremen
DeleteIt's also interesting they already fly to Dortmund, which is very close to Cologne. I doubt they will fly both
DeleteFor Christs sake the destinations were announced by the TUZLA TOURISM BOARD which signed the agreement with Wizz Air. These are the destinations. What you think as an armchair CEO is irrelevant. These routes are being launched. No one made the list up.
DeleteI view this as Wizz trying to compete against a growing Ryanair in Sarajevo.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes if all this really realize SJJ will have a pretty solid competition , and alot of passengers will use Tuzla airport ...
DeleteThere isn't a huge amount of passengers that were using Sarajevo from the Tuzla region, competition will be good
DeleteThanks, good to hear
DeleteThe rebrith of TZL :)
ReplyDeleteAnother airport that shouldn't really exist as it has to subsidise everything.
ReplyDeleteOther airports like Sarajevo subvence aviocompanies
DeleteWhy Tuzla not do also?
Subsidies are common in Europe for smaller airports.
DeleteGood example of how smaller airports can stay competitive through targeted subsidies.
Delete^ So we’re paying them to bring back the same routes they cut two years ago? Not sure that’s a sustainable model.
DeleteGreat example of low cost airlines helping small airport development. You might argue that many national airlines shouldn’t exist without government subsidies, example Adria, Croatia, BH Air, Czech, and many others in the region
DeleteGreat news for Tuzla and the whole region! More routes mean more travel options and better connectivity for the diaspora.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what Tuzla needed.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteIt's not. If Wizz Air choose to withdraw again, it's same story all over again. SWISS, Austrian, Eurowings or Air Dolomiti would have been a better way to go for Tuzla.
DeleteBut none of those airlines are interested in flying to Tuzla.
Delete16:22 Nothing is really being done to bring them to Tuzla.
DeleteWith this kind of support from the government, I hope Wizz stays for good this time. Let’s not lose these routes again.
ReplyDeleteWizz Air in Bosnia is so unreliable. They have closed two bases so far in Bosnia.
ReplyDeleteLet’s be honest, this wouldn’t have happened without subsidies. How sustainable is this in the long term?
ReplyDeleteWell last time they operated for 10 years so I think they are relatively reliable.
DeleteWhat happens when the money dries up?
DeleteSmall airports like this matter more than people realize. Keep investing in them.
DeleteHappy for more destinations, but relying on one airline isn’t a real strategy. What’s Plan B if they leave again
ReplyDeleteThis situation showed there is no interest from any other airline. So Wizz it is and we should be happy they have come back.
DeletePublic money for private profit.
ReplyDeleteThe wider public will benefit from these flights.
DeleteYea, they benefited a lot because of the wizz base first time.
DeleteWizz Air is smart to re-enter Tuzla before Ryanair establishes dominance in Bosnia
ReplyDeleteWizz Air’s relationship with Tuzla is starting to look like a toxic breakup.
ReplyDeleteThis helps bring Tuzla closer to the rest of Europe. Long overdue for a city with such a large diaspora.
ReplyDeleteVienna flights with Austrian or Zürich flights with SWISS would have brought Tuzla even closer to the rest of Europe and more than that. The same can be said about Air Dolomiti flights to either Frankfurt or Munich.
DeleteFantastic news for budget travelers and Tuzla
ReplyDeleteThe routes are back. Now let’s make sure they stay.
ReplyDeleteReopening Tuzla base is clearly part of Wizz’s defensive strategy in the Balkans. They’re shoring up markets to stop Ryanair dominance.
ReplyDeleteThis is nothing about wizz new strategy, its only about new subsidies in Tuzla. Without them, base would be not reopen at all.
DeletePeople joke about fog but it is an issue at TZL.
ReplyDeleteWhat’s there to do in Tuzla? Honest question. Might book a trip once tickets are on sale.
ReplyDeleteSalt lake, old town, salt museum.
DeleteAlso nice food, nature park Ilinčica, also close by are other nature parks, there is the biggest square in B&H called Trg slobode, etc
DeleteWelcome back Wizz! 🛫🔥”
ReplyDeleteWhat are the three fully new routes unserved in 2023?
ReplyDeleteHamburg, Beauvais and Charleroi.
DeleteBut stunning news, Tuzla will be very well connected now!
ReplyDeleteVery good. 9 new routes. That's more than the six which was first planned.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see Tuzla moving forward.
ReplyDeleteHas Tuzla finally installed the runway lights?
ReplyDeleteNo
Delete10 years and counting
DeleteAnd that was also one of the reasons Wizz left.
DeleteAnd why wizz now return when that problem is still not solved ? Clearly just for government money nothing else. But wizz could also leave after money finish ..
DeleteAnd I remember when they were planning to base their 3rd plane in Tuzla :(
ReplyDeleteThe good thing is they are coming back.
DeleteWithout Wizz in Tuzla in the first place, SJJ would have never bowed down to Ryan air and there would still be fewer than a million passengers per year, competition is a beautiful thing!
ReplyDeleteTrue but it's not because of the competition but rather the abolishment of the 10€ tax Sarajevo had for the development of Mostar and Tuzla. It got abolished when Wizz first arrived in Tuzla with a base.
DeleteRealistcally, how many passengers could Tuzla have with these new routes.
ReplyDeleteAround 580,000 passengers.
DeleteFirst we need to see the frequnecies to draw any conclusions.
DeleteNo possible chance to get 500k when Tuzla barely reaches 100k by June , could finish the year with realistic 200 to 250k.
DeleteSeems like Wizz's neo plane issues are resolved?
ReplyDeleteNot entirely but things are getting better.
DeleteNext year they will have brand new planes , plus the maintenance of almost all ones with issue should be finish by summer 2026
DeleteJel Tuzla konačno rešila prilazna svetla? Koliko se sećam, problem je bio oko neke privatne parcele koju vlasnik nije hteo da proda aerodromu.
ReplyDelete