Wizz Air Abu Dhabi to resume Moscow flights

The service will restart on October 3, with fares starting at $98

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi's Airbus A321 Neo. Photo: Wizz Air Abu Dhabi

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, a joint venture between UAE holding company ADQ and Hungary-based Wizz Air, will resume flights to Moscow in October after operations to Russia were suspended earlier this year.

The budget airline will operate a daily flight from October 3, with fares starting at Dh359 ($97.7), Wizz Air Abu Dhabi said in a statement.

“We support the UAE’s travel and tourism industry by enhancing connectivity both regionally and globally, in line with national regulations and policies,” Michael Berlouis, managing director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, said.

The airline had said in October that it would launch flights to Moscow, its first Russian destination, in December.

It suspended flights to Moscow on February 27.

"The airline is resuming its operation to Moscow to meet travel demand for passengers wishing to fly to and from Russia from the UAE capital," the airline said.

The majority of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi (51 per cent) is owned by Abu Dhabi’s state-owned holding company ADQ, while Hungary's discount airline Wizz Air owns the remaining 49 per cent.

The Hungarian airline said in March that it had suspended all its flights to and from Russia in light of the current conflict in Ukraine. EU restrictions have banned flights to Russia by companies based in the bloc, as part of sanctions in response to Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine.

Wizz Air Hungary and Wizz Air UK are not currently operating flights to Russia, the airline confirmed on Wednesday.

Airlines in the UAE have continued their Russian operations. Dubai-based Emirates, the world’s largest long-haul airline, said in March that it would continue its operations there. The airline serves Moscow twice daily and St Petersburg once a day, connecting the cities with its large global network through a stopover in Dubai.

Launched in 2019, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi currently covers a network of 34 destinations within a five-hour flight time radius of the UAE capital, with a fleet of Airbus A321 Neo jets.

Wizz Air in July launched low-cost flights to the Maldives, with one-way fares staring at less than Dh400.

The Indian Ocean holiday hotspot is traditionally known as a luxury travel destination and Wizz Air is the first budget airline to operate commercial direct flights from Abu Dhabi to the archipelago.