Wizz Air abandons Kukes

Good geographic location and the importance of developing this airport has attracted the attention of large lines of Low Cost, including Wizz Air, EasyJet, Ryan Air, Voeling, Pegasus, etc., the infrastructure minister Belinda Balluk in March 2019, after the government had approved the decision for Kukes' new international airport.

Two years later, on April 18th 2021, Prime Minister Edi Rama boarded an Air Albania line plane in Rinas and a few minutes later landed in Kukes to open Kukes International Airport. The flight of “Air Albania” was launched by London, but stopped in Rinas, to take Prime Minister Rama aboard.

Now you believe it, right? This is always the case with those who say, "No," and then when it does...

From opening until January 2022, only Air Albania was operating at ZAYED Airport. A month later, the international airport “North falatre” was joined on the runway by the first WizzAir Company plane.

I want to thank the company's director for willing to see Kukes as an opportunity, because at first he was skeptical, but then all the tests made resulted in the airport's favour. While the company's executive director, Wizz Air József Váradi, announced new destinations from Kukes.

Everything will start in May, from Kukes we will connect with Vienna, Munich, Baden and Basil. I hope this is just the beginning. )

After a year...

A year later, the analysis of Wizz Air Company took place at the airport. The company prefunds for fact that it has suspended operation from “North falatre”.

“Wiz Air confirms that after careful review and analysis, we have established the PEZULL operations for/and by Kukes International Airport (KFZ) as a result of the challenges presented by the external environment, in particular the terrain and weather, affecting the operational performance of our business and leading to disruptions of customers.”, confirms the company for fact, as it stresses that passengers affected by this decision have been announced and will be restored either in advance or by an alternative flight.

Despite Kukes' withdrawal, Wizz Air Hungarians guarantee:

“Wizz Air remains committed to long-term growth in Albania, creating hundreds of jobs while stimulating the tourism and hotel industry. Wizz Air has recently announced the adoption of a new aircraft in Tirana, increasing the base on 11 aircraft, representing an investment of over 1.1 billion euros in Albania.”, points out the reaction to Facte.

What did experts warn us?

Dritet, Civil Aviation expert, says Wizz Air's withdrawal from Kukes was expected.

“Terren is not appropriate for that type of plane, because landing is done visually rather than with instruments. Making visual, it is inevitably linked to meteorological conditions. If there's clouds, you can't do the visual landing, because you can't see, because aviation regulations for visual landings can't allow you to land without getting rid of the clouds. If you try to avoid clouds there at that altitude you risk total flight and the probability of an accident is huge.”, says pretty much, adding that regulation does not allow visual landing for large passenger transport aircraft, except for emergency cases.

If you want to issue an emergency case, then other protocols will be useful. If you don't announce it, but continue the landing, you have broken national and international aviation regulations and increased the risk of an accident. But an accident in conditions like this where you've violated every rule means the company's closure. So, according to me, the company has been forced to choose between two losses. And he chose the youngest.”, argues pretty much.

With the departure of Wizz Air, Kukes remains alone with Air Albania as an operating company offering only the Kukes-Baz line.

End

Although the minister of Infrastructure claimed that the geographical position of Kukes' airport was good and his development had attracted attention to low-cost lines, time indicated otherwise. Wizz Air Hungarians had only one year of surgery in Kukes to realize that the terrain and the difficult weather did not favor their business.