Wizz Air will return to Moldova’s market in December after a nine-month absence due to concerns about the safety of the Eastern European country’s airspace.

The airline suspended flights to the capital Chisinau in mid-March, saying the safety of passengers and crew remained its “No. 1 priority.” This came amid rising tensions between Moscow and Moldova, with a Russian missile targeting Ukraine reportedly entering Moldovan airspace in February.

At the time of the suspension, the Hungarian ULCC served 12 cities from Chisinau International Airport (KIV) and was due to increase its network to 13 destinations in May. It was the third largest operator in Moldova’s market during 2022, with a 21.5% seat capacity share.

Flights to Chisinau will resume from Dec. 14, initially from three destinations: London Luton Airport, Milan Malpensa Airport and Rome Fiumicino International Airport (FCO). The London- Chisinau market will be served three times per week, while two weekly services will be offered from Milan, Italy, and Rome.

The move has been welcomed by Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean, who said Wizz’s return was a result of the government’s “constant efforts to ensure new international connections for all our citizens and to stimulate economic development.”

Wizz launched flights to Chisinau in October 2013, becoming the first ULCC to operate in the country. The airline’s capacity to and from KIV increased from 82,100 seats in 2014 to 782,400 in 2019, OAG data shows. The number of seats offered last year totaled 523,900.

“The Republic of Moldova is a safe and attractive destination,” Recean said in a post on social media. “Only in the last two months, new airlines started operating at Chisinau International Airport with new routes to Tel-Aviv, Athens, in Greece, and Baku in Azerbaijan.

“Also, the companies that are already active on the Moldovan aviation market have rescheduled their flights and are offering more and more advantageous prices for passengers. We are becoming more connected with European cities and continue to provide new rides needed by our citizens.”

Moldova, a former Soviet republic sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine with a population of 2.6 million, became a candidate for European Union membership in the summer of 2022. However, the country is also home to Transnistria, a separatist pro-Russian region located between the Dniester River and the Ukrainian border that broke away from Moldova in 1990.

Separately, Wizz has announced plans to increase its base in Gdansk, Poland. An eighth Airbus A321 aircraft will bae based at Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport from April 2024, enabling the launch of two new routes to FCO and Valencia Airport (VLC) in Spain. Flights to VLC will start on March 31, operating twice a week, while operations to FCO will commence the next day, operating three times per week. In addition, Wizz intends to increase frequencies on 12 more routes to destinations including Bergen and Stavanger in Norway and Hamburg, Germany.