CHISINAU, Moldova (AFP) — Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air announced Monday it would suspend all its flights to and from Moldova due to security concerns linked to growing tensions with Russia.
“Due to recent developments and the high, though not imminent, risk in the country’s airspace, Wizz Air has taken the difficult but responsible decision to suspend all its flights to Chisinau as of March 14,” the group said in a statement.
Moldova, a pro-European republic of 2.6 million people located between Romania and Ukraine, has feared that it could be Moscow’s next target ever since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine a year ago.
In recent weeks the EU-candidate nation has reported “attempts at destabilisation”.
Its territory has been hit by debris from the war in Ukraine several times and Moldova has occasionally shut down its own airspace during the Ukraine conflict.
Moldova has also suffered energy blackouts after Ukraine stopped exporting electricity because of Russian airstrikes on critical infrastructure.
But Wizz Air is the first airline to announce such a suspension of flights.
Two weeks ago, Moldova’s president Maia Sandu accused Russia of plotting to violently overthrow the country’s pro-European leadership with the help of saboteurs disguised as anti-government protesters.
Moscow denied the claim.
On Monday, Moldova’s infrastructure ministry said it regretted Wizz Air’s decision, assuring in a statement that flights, “which respect a number of procedures, could be carried out safely”.
The Romanian national airline Tarom, Air Moldova, and Turkish Airlines continue to fly to the Moldovan capital.
© Agence France-Presse
