Wizz Air suspends flights to Moldova due to safety fears over Russian threat

01 March 2023 , 05:51

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Wizz Air is to suspend flights from Moldova (Image: Getty Images)

Wizz Air passengers have been told that the airline is to suspend flights to Moldova from mid-March due to tension with Russia increasing safety concerns in the country.

The budget airline has became the first to state it will not fly to Moldova, which borders Ukraine on its north, east and south.

"Due to recent developments and the high, though not imminent, risk in the country's airspace, Wizz Air has taken the difficult but responsible decision to suspend all its flights to Chisinau as of March 14", the airline said in a statement.

The Moldovan government responded in a statement published on Telegram that it regretted the airline's "sudden" decision.

"After analysing the risks, government agencies have determined that flights in the national airspace can be carried out safely by following a number of procedures, and they regret Wizz Air's sudden decision," it stated.

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A protest against the pro-Western government on Tuesday (AP)

Wizz Air's move comes two weeks after Moldovan president Maia Sandu publicly accused Russia of plotting to overthrow its government through violent actions disguised as anti-government protests.

The plan involved citizens of Russia, Montenegro, Belarus and Serbia entering Moldova to try to spark protests in an attempt to "change the legitimate government to an illegal government controlled by the Russian Federation", she said.

“Through violent actions, masked under protests of the so-called opposition, the change of power in Chisinau would be forced,” she continued. “In carrying out the plan, the authors rely on several internal forces, but especially on criminal groups such as the Shor formation and all of its derivatives.”

Transnistria, an internationally unrecognised breakaway region of Moldova, adopted a policy of supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine shortly after war broke out last year and has allowed Russian troops to be stationed in its borders.

The statement from Moldova's president came just weeks before Russia told western countries that it would view any actions that threatened Russian peacekeepers in Transnistria as a direct attack on Russia.

Meanwhile, Wizz Air said it was going to offer extra flights to and from the Romanian city of Iasi, close to the Moldovan border. It means that flights to Chisinau would go to Iasi from other Wizz Air destinations like London or Barcelona while more would also be made available.

Tim Hanlon