Wizz Air keeps Belgrade base: 4 aircraft, 200 jobs
The airline keeps its Belgrade base for winter 2026/27 but wants the Article 3 suspension made permanent. The Directorate only postponed the provision until March 28, 2027.
Wizz Air is keeping its base at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport through the 2026/27 winter season, the company confirmed in a statement on September 29. Four aircraft are based in Belgrade, and the company says it directly employs more than 200 people in Serbia. The decision followed the Civil Aviation Directorate’s move to postpone a provision of its rulebook that Wizz Air considers a threat to its operations in Serbia.
What did the Directorate postpone?
On September 25, the Directorate adopted an amendment to the Rulebook on Issuing Permits to Foreign Air Carriers for International Air Transport. The amendment was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 93/2026 on September 28 and took effect on September 29. Under the new transitional provision, Article 3, paragraph 4 does not apply to requests for earlier traffic periods, only to periods starting on March 28, 2027 or later.
The disputed provision has not been repealed, only delayed. If the rules are not amended again before that date, it will start to apply from the spring 2027 season. We have already reported the postponement, and the company’s response and figures are now known.
The Directorate adopted the rulebook in March 2026, and Article 3 caused the most controversy. It governs the permits a foreign airline must obtain to carry passengers to and from Serbia. Wizz Air argues that it discriminates against European carriers and conflicts with Serbia’s obligations under the European Common Aviation Area Agreement. The company also says the European Union agrees with that view. The winter season begins in late October, and in recent months Wizz Air had warned that applying the new rules could close the Belgrade base as early as November.
How big is Wizz Air’s presence in Serbia?
The company says it has flown in Serbia since 2010, carrying more than 14 million passengers in that time and investing hundreds of millions of euros. From June to August 2026 it operated more than 3,000 flights and carried about 700,000 passengers to and from Serbia. According to the company, more than 25,000 people signed a petition backing the campaign to keep the base.
What does Wizz Air want next?
Owen Jones, Wizz Air’s chief corporate affairs officer, said the decision was the right outcome for employees in Belgrade and for Serbian passengers. In the company’s statement he said:
“Wizz Air stood by its position because we believed these measures were wrong and incompatible with Serbia’s international obligations. We spoke with the Serbian authorities and European institutions, and the EU concluded that Wizz Air’s position was correct. We are also grateful for the tremendous support shown by our customers, more than 25,000 of whom signed a petition backing our base in Belgrade. We are glad that reason has prevailed, but it is essential for Serbia’s future connectivity and fair competition that the suspension of these measures becomes permanent, so that we can continue to invest in Serbia and give our Serbian customers affordable air travel in summer 2027 and beyond.”
The company is asking for more than a delay. The March 28, 2027 deadline falls at the start of the spring season, and in the same statement Jones ties investment and affordable fares to summer 2027. Wizz Air also said in its statement how it sees the period ahead: “Now that the regulatory uncertainty has been removed, Wizz Air looks forward to continuing its long-term presence in Serbia and serving Serbian passengers from its base in Belgrade.”
