Tuzla in talks with mystery airline to replace Wizz

The government of the Tuzla Canton, as well as Tuzla Airport, have entered into talks with an unnamed carrier over the potential launch of flights from the city to several destinations. Discussions with the airline took place earlier this week in Zagreb. The carrier in question has never served Bosnia and Herzegovina in the past. “We have an agreement not to go public until we get official confirmation on everything that was discussed. We held the meeting, we expect a proposal for an agreement to be made, which will be followed by further steps. We are in talks with a serious company that has not previously flown from Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is interested in launching several destinations that we have not had in the past. Additionally, we are in talks with several carriers over flights from Istanbul, which is a major international hub”, Tuzla Airport’s management said.

The development comes after Wizz Air announced it was discontinuing eleven routes out of Tuzla and reallocating its two stationed aircraft to other basis from mid-September. The budget carrier will continue to maintain flights from four cities to Tuzla. Tuzla Airport’s management has said it is also in talks with Ryanair, which discontinued its flights to the city this June due to a row over a state-imposed tax. The agreement signed with Ryanair is still valid and they may restore operations to the city if issues over the tax payments are overcome. Furthermore, the airport notes it has received a Latter of Intent from Air Montenegro, which has expressed its interest in commencing services from the city.

Tuzla Airport handled 429.473 passengers during the January – July period. The figure represents an increase of 101% on last year and is up 26.8% on the previous record set during the same period in 2019. Tuzla Airport recently said it was surprised by Wizz Air’s decision to close its base in the city. “We are surprised by the latest information because we do not see any reason for such a decision. Namely, this is a record year for Tuzla Airport in terms of the number of passengers handled, because we have served more than 400.000 travellers. Based on this, there is no economic reason for Wizz Air to close its base. They told us it is because of global economic factors. There was nothing we could do to change that”, it noted.