Wizz Air low cost airline will decide whether to participate in the upcoming public call which will be announced by the Macedonian government for financial support to stimulate the launch of new routes by low cost carriers once new conditions of the developed strategy is to be released by competent institutions.
The contract with the company currently receiving financial support expires in June, and as Wizz Air CEO, Jozsef Varadi, said Thursday in Skopje, they expect the cooperation to continue.
Wizz Air's passenger share in Macedonia grew to 63% during 2017, resulting in 1.2 million passengers carried, Varadi said, adding that Wizz Air will offer 1.6 million seats for sale from the Macedonian market this year, representing an increase of 23% on 2017. The low cost airline commenced operations from Macedonia in 2011 and has since welcomed over four million travellers to and from the country. Wizz Air carried a total of 4.1 million passengers from Macedonia and opened 140 direct and 900 indirect employments. It invested a total of €400 million, Varadi said.
With the launch of its planned new Vienna - Ohrid service, Wizz Air will offer 30 low cost destinations in 14 countries from Skopje and Ohrid airports.
General manager of airport operator TAV Macedonia Alper Ersoy said at today’s press conference that as an airline with the largest share of passengers, they expect Wizz Air to continue developing their business on the Macedonian market, investing in new destinations and increasing frequencies on existing services.
“TAV as always will continue to stay focused on expanding airline network but also in providing high quality services both to passengers and clients,” Ersoy said.
One of the most important goals for this year is to welcome over 2 million passengers at Skopje Airport, he said. They expect busy summer season at Ohrid Airport as well as significant increase in air traffic due to announced new routes to Warsaw, Tallinn, Eindhoven and launch of planned new Vienna – Ohrid service from November 15, which was announced by Wizz Air.
Answering journalist question, Ersoy said that still there is no precise decision related to the construction of cargo airport in Stip, which is a TAV obligation as airports’ concessionaire.
