Wizz Air Belgrade: Disputed Rule Delayed to March 2027

Serbia’s Civil Aviation Directorate has delayed until March 28, 2027 the application of Article 3, paragraph 4 of the Rulebook on Issuing Permits to Foreign Air Carriers, the provision that led Wizz Air to warn it would close its Belgrade base from November 2026. The amendment was adopted on September 25, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 93/2026, on September 28, and takes effect today, September 29. The threat of a November closure is gone, but the disputed provision has not been repealed.

What exactly has been delayed?

The Directorate adopted the rulebook in March 2026. Article 3, paragraph 4 says that permits for scheduled services under third and fourth freedom traffic rights apply to flights that start and end in the territory of the country that authorized the foreign carrier, which for an EU carrier means the European Union. Wizz Air read that as a ban on starting rotations in Belgrade.

The amendment adds Article 15a, a transitional provision, which reads:

“To flights of foreign air carriers that, on the day this rulebook enters into force, start and end in the territory of the Republic of Serbia, the provision of Article 3, paragraph 4 of this rulebook shall apply to permit applications relating to traffic periods beginning on March 28, 2027 or later.”

For applications covering earlier periods, including the entire 2026/27 winter season, the disputed paragraph will not apply. From the end of March 2027 it applies in full, unless the regulation changes in the meantime or the deadline is pushed back again.

What did each side say?

During the dispute, Owain Jones, the company’s chief corporate officer, explained what the problem was:

“Wizz Air’s concern about the Rulebook relates to the amendments to Article 3, under which permits issued on the basis of third and fourth freedom traffic rights will be issued only for flights that start and end in the European Union.”

Jones concluded that a foreign carrier would be prevented from starting its rotations from Serbia. The Directorate rejected that reading. In a statement, it said the regulatory changes “do not restrict traffic rights, but regulate a regulatory framework that applies equally to all air carriers operating on the Serbian market”. On June 3, 2026, the same body said that no carrier had been denied the right to fly between Serbia and EU member states, or the right to open new routes in line with existing agreements.

How did the delay come about?

The amendment was adopted two days after the joint committee of the European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) met in Brussels on September 22 and 23. Ex Yu Aviation reported that Serbian and European Commission representatives held bilateral meetings on the sidelines. Wizz Air also brought the Commission into the dispute, and according to BIRN, the Commission was examining whether the change to Serbian rules is consistent with obligations Serbia had earlier taken on toward the EU.

In July, Wizz Air submitted a petition to the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, the Government and the Directorate, which the company said carried more than 21,000 signatures from Serbian citizens. Press.rs reports an unofficial claim that the request for a delay came from the ministry, but there is no official confirmation.

How big is the Belgrade base?

The Belgrade base opened on May 20, 2010 and has four aircraft stationed there. The company employs more than 150 people in Serbia. When the dispute became public, it cited about 200 employees and 29 routes to ten countries. According to Aero.rs, the base now serves 25 destinations. Last year, close to two million passengers were carried on routes to and from Serbia. Press.rs also says about 700,000 passengers flew from Belgrade on more than 3,000 flights in the summer 2026 season, but no other source we checked carries that figure.

According to unofficial information from Aero Telegraf, Wizz Air has scheduled a meeting for today with staff at the Belgrade base, where it will inform them of the decision. The provision has been delayed, not repealed, and the interpretation of the ECAA agreement between Serbia and the European Commission remains an open question.