The largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe has announced it will open a new base in Kosice, Slovakia.
Starting in September 2015, Wizz air will base one of its Airbus A320 aircraft at the airport, initially bringing 30 direct jobs and two new routes to both Milan Bergamo in Italy, and Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport in the UK.
The new connections will both be operated on a twice weekly basis, and will complement the existing daily flights to London Luton from Kosice airport.
The Milan Bergamo route will begin operation on September 14, 2015 on Mondays and Fridays, while the Doncaster Sheffield service will commence operation on September 16, 2014 on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Richard Raši, the Mayor of Kosice said: “In current difficult economic conditions and enormous competition across the European sky it is a great success that Wizz Air will place one of its brand new aircraft here in Košice. I have no doubts that everyone will benefit from currently operated flights to London and new routes to Milan Bergamo and Doncaster Sheffield.”
The airport achieved a 50 percent increase in passenger traffic in 2014 compared to the previous year, also recording its strongest charter season in its history, and a 13 percent increase in aircraft movements for the year.
József Váradi, Wizz Air’s CEO, said: "Today’s announcement underlines Wizz Air’s commitment to Slovakia. We started our operations in Slovakia just 1.5 years ago and already carried over 130,000 passengers on Kosice and Poprad routes. Slovakia is becoming our 12th country where we have established base operations. We look forward to bringing more low fares and attractive routes to Slovakian consumers and their visitors.”
Doncaster Sheffield Airport is Wizz Air’s second largest UK base, and the only one in Yorkshire. Currently the airport operates a total of 24 Wizz Air flights per week to eight destinations including Warsaw, Gdansk, Bucharest and Wroclaw.
Chris Harcombe, head of aviation development at Doncaster Sheffield Airport, said: “We’re delighted to announce the new Wizz Air route to Kosice. It is great news for the city region that the North of England’s only service to Kosice will be flying from Doncaster.”
Kosice is the second largest city in Slovakia, located in the east and with a population of 240,000. It was awarded the European Capital of Culture in 2013, and is famous for having the largest heritage reservation in Slovakia.
Daniel de Carvalho, spokesman for Wizz Air, added: “This new route to Kosice underlines Wizz Air’s commitment to Doncaster Sheffield Airport and the Yorkshire region. We hope that the new route will be an attractive option for people in Yorkshire to access a historic city and learn more about the region.”
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