Hungarian low-cost airline WizzAir will open 16 new flights to three cities in Ukraine: Lviv, Kyiv and Kharkiv.
The new Ukrainian routes come as part of a plan to add 70 new flights and several new destinations throughout Europe over the next 17 weeks, WizzAir said in a press release. In the course of the expansion, the company plans to invest more than $2 billion in 11 bases across Europe.
Of the Ukrainian cities, Lviv will receive the largest number of flights. On March 25, WizzAir will launch a route from the western Ukrainian city to Dortmund, Germany. The next day, it will launch two more flights: to Gdansk and Katowice, Poland. On May 1, the company will also begin flying from Lviv to London’s Luton airport, according to the LowCost Avia website.
WizzAir flights from Kyiv’s Zhulyany airport to Lisbon, Portugal and Tallinn, Estonia will begin on June 21. Finally, the company will launch flights from Kharkiv — a new city for WizzAir — to Dortmund and Katowice on June 20.
For Ukraine, the new flights represent the gradual expansion of affordable travel to the countries of Europe. In May 2017, Brussels eliminated visas for Ukrainian citizens visiting the Schengen area for a period of up to 90 days. The visa-free regime came into force with much fanfare on June 11.
However, for many Ukrainians, travel to Europe has remained a luxury due to the high prices of air travel. Low-cost airlines’ entry into the Ukrainian market is one remedy for this problem. However, it has not been without challenges.
In July 2017, Irish low-coster Ryanair cancelled plans to start flights to Ukraine after Kyiv’s Boryspil airport refused to meet its conditions for entering the Ukrainian market. The news sparked widespread controversy in Ukraine, where many believed that the country’s flagship Ukrainian International Airlines blocked Ryanair’s entry and protect its own interests.
However, last month, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan announced that Kyiv had reached an agreement with RyanAir. The airline will reportedly begin flights to Kyiv and Lviv in autumn 2018.
