A dispute over new aviation regulations could force the Hungarian airline to withdraw its four aircraft based at Nikola Tesla Airport, significantly reducing the number of routes and flight frequencies.
What will happen to Wizz Air’s low-cost flights in Serbia from next year onwards is a question that has emerged among travel enthusiasts in recent days. A final decision could be reached within days, given that talks are currently under way between Serbian officials and the European Commission.
The issue will be discussed at a two-day meeting of the Joint Committee of the European Common Aviation Area in Brussels.
Wizz Air currently has a four-aircraft base at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport and has maintained a base in the Serbian capital since 2011, according to RusTourismNews. The airline has warned that, if no solution is found, the aircraft could be relocated at the start of the 2026/27 winter schedule, on 25 October. Wizz Air says it would continue to serve Belgrade even if the base were closed, but passengers could face fewer routes, flights and departure options.
Why does Wizz Air consider its Belgrade base to be at risk?
The dispute concerns amended regulations governing foreign airlines in Serbia. Under the new provisions, authorisations for EU airlines using certain traffic rights are restricted in a way that Wizz Air says prevents an EU carrier from starting its flight rotations in Serbia.
This is important because a base is different from simply operating flights to a particular airport.
Wizz Air currently stations aircraft and crews in Belgrade, allowing its aircraft to start and finish their daily flight schedules there. The airline says the amended regulatory framework would make such an operating model unsustainable.
Serbia’s Ministry of Transport has rejected claims that it is attempting to force Wizz Air out of the market. The ministry says the amendments are aimed at aligning domestic regulations with its obligations under the European Common Aviation Area Agreement, as well as ending what it regards as preferential treatment previously available to only one carrier.
Flights to Belgrade would not disappear completely
Even if it closes its base, Wizz Air says it intends to maintain a presence in Belgrade. Instead of using aircraft based in Serbia, some routes could be operated by aircraft based elsewhere in Europe, using what is known as a W-pattern operating model.
However, this solution would be applicable to only part of the current route network and would probably result in reduced flight frequencies. Wizz Air is expected to make a final decision on its Belgrade base by the end of September, shortly after the talks in Brussels.
The stakes for the Serbian capital are high, as Wizz Air is one of the most important low-cost carriers operating from the airport.
Closing the base would not mean the airline was withdrawing from Serbia, but experience at other European airports shows that the removal of based aircraft can lead to a rapid reduction in an airline’s local route network.
(Kamatica, 25.09.2026)
https://www.kamatica.com/vest/da-li-wizz-air-napusta-beogradski-aerodrom-evo-kada-nas-ceka-konacna-odluka/80546
