YEREVAN/DEC. 16 (The Bulletin) –Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air said it was setting up new routes to Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport from Vilnius and Vienna, going head-to-head with Ryanair which will also start flying to the Armenian capital next year.
Wizz Air was the first European budget airline to expand into the South Caucasus when it set up operations out of Georgia’s second city of Kutaisi in 2016. Since then its routes to Kutaisi have spanned out across Europe. Georgian politicians hold up Wizz Air as a foreign investment success story that has created jobs and helped the tourism sector.
Announcing its new routes on Twitter, Wizz Air said: “This magical country has brought us more than just one of America’s most famous reality families. From the world’s oldest winery to a record-breaking cable car to chess masters, it’s time to uncover the true hospitality this country has to offer.”
Reuters quoted Wizz Air as saying that it expected the two twice-weekly routes to start up in April 2020.
For Armenian aviation officials, the start of Wizz Air flights from Zvartnots represents another success after they persuaded Ryanair to start flying from Armenia. Footfall at Armenian airports rose 9% this year.
ENDS
— This story was first published in issue 432 of the weekly Bulletin on Dec. 27 2019
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