Wizz Air, the rapidly growing budget carrier has back down over relaunching flights between Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Moscow after receiving criticism in the media, from the travel industry and from passenger on social media.
The budget airline that received huge government support during the height of the coronavirus pandemic had previously said its Abu Dhabi operation would restart flights to Moscow from October this year.
However, the company issued a statement before the weekend saying the flights were deferred until further notice. It sited “industry supply chain limitations”.
Wizz Air in the UK holds a 49% stake in Wizz Air Abu Dhabi whose aircraft carry the European airline’s name and branding. The rest of the airline is owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ.
The United Arab Emirates has not imposed sanctions on Russia and its airlines are continuing to operate services to Moscow, regardless of the invasion of Ukraine. Emirates is still suppling cargo arrangements on its aircraft for the Russian government as well as providing it with crucial banking and foreign exchange access.