Hungarian airline Wizz Air will suspend all flights to Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, from March 14 for security reasons, according to a report by Romaniajournal. A message about the suspension also appeared on the website of Romania’s Civil Aviation Authority, saying that the airline had sent the agency a corresponding letter.
The airline will offer passengers additional flights from Iasi airport in Romania, 150 km from the Moldovan capital.
“Wizz Air has been closely monitoring the security situation in Moldova and maintained continuous contact with various local and international authorities and agencies to ensure the highest level of safety and security of operations. Safety of the passengers and crew remains Wizz Air’s number one priority and following the recent developments in Moldova and the elevated, but not imminent, risk in the country’s airspace, Wizz Air has made the difficult but responsible decision to suspend all flights to Chisinau from the 14th of March,” says a press release issued by the airline.
On February 23, Russia’s Ministry of Defense twice claimed that Ukraine was preparing an armed provocation in Transnistria “in the near future.” The Moldovan government responded that it did not confirm the claims and called on citizens to remain calm. Prior to that, Moldovan media outlets had reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Italian newspaper La Repubblica that Russia had been planning to seize the airport in Chisinau to transport troops and equipment to the left bank of the Dniester River and open a new front through Moldova. According to him, the Ukrainian special services found out about these plans and warned Moldova’s leadership. Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean confirmed that this was only one of Russia’s possible plans, and Moldova was ready for a confrontation.