Route Analysis: Budapest-Chişinău

Nonstop flights between Hungary and Moldova will resume in March, marking the first scheduled service between the European countries in a decade.

Wizz Air plans to connect Budapest (BUD) with Chişinău (KIV) from March 28, operating twice a week on Mondays and Fridays. The 732-km route will see the ULCC offer almost 50,000 two-way weekly seats between the destinations.

The Eastern European countries’ capital cities have not been linked nonstop since March 2012, when the now defunct Moldavian Airlines ended regular service. Prior to ceasing the route, the private airline provided eight return trips per week using Saab 2000 aircraft.

“Filling a white spot on our destination map, especially while we still advance from the effects of the pandemic, is testimony to the ongoing solid relations we have with our home-based airline, and the continuous hard work of everyone at Budapest,” BUD head of airline development Balázs Bogáts said.

By offering flights on Fridays and Mondays, Wizz will primarily be targeting two-way leisure passengers seeking a long weekend city break.

Although Chişinău’s origins date back to 1420, much of the city was destroyed during World War II and an earthquake in 1940. Its architecture today is therefore a mix of Soviet-style structures, as well as more modern buildings.

The region is also famed for its vineyards, with about a dozen wineries within a 90-min. drive of Chişinău.

BUD-KIV