PREMIUM
Wizz Air entered the Kosovan market in April 2017 and is today the second busiest carrier at Pristina Airport behind only Eurowings. It commenced operations to the city from Budapest and London Luton. This was followed by the addition of flights from Memmingen, Basel and Dortmund during the fourth quarter of 2018, after which the airline positioned itself among the top ten busiest in Pristina. By the end of the following year, it was in the top five. In 2019, the carrier added flights to Vienna and in 2020 services to Milan were introduced. This July, it commenced services to Rome, although, flights have been temporarily suspended.
Wizz Air's Pristina passenger performance by year
The low cost airline sees strong competition on its Pristina operations, going head to head against other major budget carriers such as Eurowings and easyJet. However, unlike many airlines maintaining flights to Kosovo, Wizz Air does not cooperate with local tour agents, which charter flights from Kosovo’s main diaspora hotspots and sell tickets exclusively through their own channels. Although a popular method for travel to Pristina, such a practice has often proved risky with a number of travellers scammed. Eurowings, which boasts a base in Pirstina, has done so in cooperation with a local tour agent.
Wizz Air has seen its Pristina passenger numbers soar in the years leading up to the pandemic and held up well even in 2020 when Pristina Airport was closed for three months. However, the airline’s expansion in Pristina stalled prior to the outbreak of Covid-19 with just one route added each year over the past three years. One of the main deterrents for Wizz Air in Pristina are the airport’s high fees. It took several years for the airline to negotiate suitable commercial terms for it to commence operations to the city. Despite Kosovo’s vast diaspora across Europe, which make up the majority of Pristina Airport’s passengers, the airline had also hoped the promised EU visa liberalisation for Kosovan passport holders would come into effect in recent years, however, this is yet to occur. The development would significantly stimulate outbound travel.
Commenting on its operations in Pristina, Wizz Air's CEO, Jozsef Varadi, recently told EX-YU Aviation News, "Airport costs are a problem. I think we are still trying to learn the [Kosovo] market. We have a limited presence in Pristina". Asked whether the airline could base an aircraft in Pristina, the CEO said, "Not at the moment. Maybe at a later stage but at this point in time, no". The General Manager of Pristina Airport, Haldun Fırat Kokturk, conceded that airport charges have been an issue. "Because of the fees, airlines are hesitating to start operations to Kosovo since they want to get cheaper prices from the airport. Our fees are set in our concession agreement, we are not the decision makers. In our concession agreement, there is an annex describing the fees. So, we are paying the concession fee to the government, which is calculated according to those fees. We can make a discount, but we need the approval of the government, the Civil Aviation Authority and the Public Private Partnership Unit",
Wizz Air’s arrival into Pristina has been mainly the result of an incentive policy developed by the airport in order to bypass a long chain of decision-makers who must approve any fee discounts. "We worked hard to convince the government that we have to offer discounts in order to attract airlines. If we increase the passenger quantity, we can compensate these discounts. With more passengers we will generate more revenue. We made a lot of discounts for additional frequencies and new routes", Mr Kokturk said. However, the Managing Director emphasised the subsidy scheme is fair, balanced and open to all airlines, unlike, according to him, the one offered at nearby rival Skopje Airport. "Our incentive program is fair to all airlines. It says - bring me additional passengers, get more discounts. Put an additional flight, get more discounts. Open a new route which is not served from here, get more discounts. Base an aircraft here, leave the aircraft here and get more discounts. It has worked".
In terms Wizz Air’s future expansion in Pristina, the airline is eying additional routes in Germany and Scandinavia, particularly Sweden which has seen significant growth in demand for flights to and from Kosovo in recent years.