Wizz Air wants restart of Ukraine flights as soon as possible after any ceasefire
Wizz Air is poised to swiftly resume flights to Ukraine if a ceasefire with Russia is declared.
Chief executive Jozsef Varadi revealed the airline 's ambitious plan to reinstate approximately 30 inbound routes within six weeks of any such announcement.
"We have a firm plan for the restart of Ukraine, because I think it can happen any moment," Varadi stated, emphasizing the airline's readiness. He outlined the strategy, explaining, "Once a ceasefire is announced, then we would look at our restart."
This rapid resumption hinges on the European Union Aviation Safety Agency's estimated six-to-eight week timeframe to declare Ukrainian airspace safe. Varadi confirmed Wizz Air is actively preparing for this reopening.
It comes amid heightened tensions in Ukraine and across Europe after President Donald Trump said he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about a timeline to begin negotiations to end the war that Russia started three years ago this month.
The pair discussed the matter on an hour-and-a-half phone call on Wednesday, in which Mr Trump said they agreed to "work together, very closely" – sparking concerns that Kyiv was being shut out of the process.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth denied suggestions that Mr Trump's call, which sparked concern among European officials that a deal was being done over their heads, was an act of betrayal.
Wizz Air said it would restart operating bases in Kyiv and Lviv, Varadi said, initially aiming to supply an annualised capacity of about 5 million seats a year to the Ukrainian market across 60 routes.
Prior to the war in 2021, the low-cost airline was No. 3 in the Ukrainian market with a 10.1 per cent share.
Rival airline Ryanair has also said it would start flying to Ukraine once the war ends.
Wizz Air cut its annual net income forecast for the second time in six months in January, as it grapples with rising costs related to the grounding of some 20 per cent of its fleet due to engine problems and economic uncertainties.
However, Varadi expects the economic outlook to improve and for capacity to increase by about 20 per cent in the 2025 fiscal year on the expected delivery of 50 new Airbus aircraft between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026.
"That is a significant source of growth and also we are recovering some of the engine-related grounded aircraft and they will go back into service," he said.
"So if I look at the kind of the next two years of capacity, we're going to be able to add around 80 lines of flying to the business," he said.
Shares in some European airlines fell on Tuesday, with Wizz Air down 6.9 per cent by 1304 GMT, with analysts pointing to TUI Group, Europe's largest travel operator, having flagged a slowdown in bookings.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
an hour ago
- Spectator
Imperialism still overshadows our intellectual history
Peter Watson begins his survey of the history of ideas in Britain with the assertion that the national mindset (which at that time was the English mindset) changed significantly after the accession of Elizabeth I. His book – a guide to the nature of British intellectual curiosity since the mid-16th century – begins there, just as England had undergone a liberation from a dominant European authority: the shaking off of the influence of the Roman Catholic church and the advent of the Reformation, and the new opportunities that offered for the people. He describes how a culture based largely on poetry and on the court of Elizabeth then redirected the prevailing intellectual forces of the time. This affected not just literature (Marlowe, Shakespeare and Jonson) but also helped develop an interest in science that grew remarkably throughout the next few centuries. The 'imagination' of Watson's title is not merely the creative artistic imagination, but also that of scientists and inventors and, indeed, of people adept at both. The book is, according to its footnotes, based on secondary sources, so those well read in the history of the intellect in Britain since the Reformation will find much that is familiar. There is the odd surprise, such as one that stems from the book's occasional focus on the British empire and the need felt today to discuss its iniquities. Watson writes that the portion of the British economy based on the slave trade (which must not be conflated with empire) was between 1 per cent and 1.4 per cent. He also writes that for much of the era of slavery the British had a non-racial view of it, since their main experience of the odious trade was of white people being captured by Barbary pirates and held to ransom. While this cannot excuse the barbarism endured by Africans shipped by British (and other) slavers across the Atlantic, it lends some perspective to a question in serious danger of losing any vestige of one. Watson does not come down on one side or the other in the empire debate, eschewing the 'balance sheet' approach taken by historians such as Nigel Biggar and Niall Ferguson; but he devotes too much of the last section of his book to the question, when other intellectual currents in the opening decades of the 21st century might have been more profitably explored, not least the continuing viability of democracy. Earlier on, he gives much space to an analysis of Edward Said, and questions such as whether Jane Austen expressed her antipathy to slavery sufficiently clearly in the novel Mansfield Park. But then some of Watson's own analyses of writers and thinkers are not always easily supported. He is better on the 18th century – dealing well with the Scottish enlightenment (giving a perfectly nuanced account of Adam Smith) and writers such as Burke and Gibbon – than he appears to be on the 19th. He gives Carlyle his due, but cites an article in a learned American journal from 40 years ago to justify his claim that Carlyle's 'reputation took a knock' in 1849 with the publication of his Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question. Watson says readers were offended by the use of the term 'Quashee' to describe a black man. They may well, if so, have been unsettled by the still less palatable title that the Discourse was subsequently given, which was The Nigger Question: it appeared thus in a 1853 pamphlet and in the Centenary Edition of Carlyle's works in 1899. That indicates the Discourse did Carlyle's reputation no lasting harm at the time, whatever it may have done since. In seeking to pack so much into fewer than 500 pages of text, Watson does skate over a few crucial figures. Some of his musings on empire might have been sacrificed to make more space for George Orwell, for example. A chapter in whose title his name appears features just one brief paragraph on him, about Homage to Catalonia, and later there is a page or so on Animal Farm, which says nothing new. Of Orwell's extensive and mould-breaking journalism there is nothing – somewhat surprising in a book about the British imagination when dealing with one of its leading exponents of the past century. Watson emphasises scientific discovery and innovation, and the effect on national life and ideas caused by the Industrial Revolution. These are all essential consequences of our intellectual curiosity, and he is right to conclude that the historic significance of Britain in these fields is immense. He includes league tables of Nobel prizewinners by nation in which Britain shows remarkably well. But these prizes are not the only means by which the contribution to civilisation and progress by a people are measured. There are notable omissions. Although Watson talks about the elitist nature of 'high culture' – such as Eliot and The Waste Land – he does not discuss how far the British imagination, and the British contribution to world civilisation, might have advanced had we taken the education of the masses more seriously earlier. We were, until the Butler Education Act of 1944, appalling at developing our human resources, and have not been much better since. It is surprising that there is no discussion of British music, one of the greatest fruits of the imagination of the past 150 years. And there is no analysis of the role of architecture, which, given its impact and its centrality to many people's idea of themselves as British, surely merited examination. The book shows extensive and intelligent reading, but trying to cram so much information and commentary into one volume has not been a complete success, or resulted in something entirely coherent.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
'No Kings Day' protests expected to draw millions of people across 1,800 cities
The protests are planned in cities across all 50 states and Puerto Rico as well as several countries abroad, including Colombia, Germany, Italy, Malawi, Portugal and the United Kingdom, according to organizers This weekend, millions of people across the United States are set to attend over 1,800 "No King's Day" protests in response to President Donald Trump's military parade in Washington D. C. on Saturday. The demonstrations are planned in cities across all 50 states and Puerto Rico, as well as several countries abroad, including Colombia, Germany, Italy, Malawi, Portugal and the UK, according to organisers. These protests are expected to be the largest demonstrations against the Trump administration since he took office in January. The aim of these protests is to counter Trump's 250th anniversary U.S. Army parade scheduled to take place in the nation's capital on Saturday, which coincides with his 79th birthday. The event, which officials project will cost between $25-$45 million and cause upwards of $16 million in damages to the city streets, will see hundreds of military tanks and aircraft roll through the streets of Washington, D. C, reports the Mirror US. Protest organisers said: "On June 14-Flag Day-President Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday. A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn't staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else,". "No Kings is a nationwide day of defiance. From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, we're taking action to reject authoritarianism-and show the world what democracy really looks like. We're not gathering to feed his ego. We're building a movement that leaves him behind." Organisers stress that the demonstrations will remain peaceful and have cautioned participants against bringing weapons or instigating altercations with any objectors. The most significant protests are anticipated in several major cities, including Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Houston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. The organisers have clarified that there will be no protest in Washington D.C. to avoid potential conflicts with the MAGA movement. "We want to create contrast, not conflict," Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of Indivisible, one of the partnering organisations for the protest, stated. "The choice to hold No Kings events in every city but D.C. is a deliberate choice to keep the focus on contrast, and not give the Trump administration an opportunity to stoke and then put the focus on conflict." In the meantime, anti-ICE demonstrations that started on Friday in Los Angeles are continuing into their sixth day with no apparent conclusion. President Trump has ignited a fierce dispute with California Governor Gavin Newsom following his decision to send 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to LA to address the pro-immigration protesters. The Pentagon revealed the deployment of troops to the city came at a cost of $134 million. Their arrival on Sunday was met with widespread criticism, with many arguing it disrupted the previously peaceful atmosphere. California Governor Newsom's office responded by filing a motion to block Trump's decision to send in troops. Nationwide, over 25 cities have been the site of anti-ICE protests, according to NBC News. In a separate event, thousands are expected to attend a mass in Chicago on Saturday, where Pope Leo XIV will deliver an address to young people in his hometown. The Women's March movement is also organizing a protest, dubbed 'Kick Out the Clowns,' with over 320 events planned and more than 13,000 people set to attend. On their website, the group stated, "June 14 is our chance to reflect the absurdity of the MAGA regime and the clowns who lead it." This latest wave of civil unrest echoes the widespread protests seen in 2020, including the 'Black Lives Matter' movement against police brutality and systemic racism, as well as the 'Women's March' in response to the #MeToo movement during Trump's first inauguration in 2017.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Shoppers warned about quick online payment option that could end up costing you £1,000s
A WARNING has been issued to shoppers over a quick payment option that can cost £1,000s. Which? is urging caution over use of the "pay by bank" feature which lacks key consumer protection. 1 The payment feature lets shoppers pay for products without the need to enter bank details or use a card. It is used by popular online retailers such as WHSmith, Just Eat, Funky Pigeon and Ryanair. You can also use it to settle credit card balances or pay bills. However, Which? has raised concerns people may be unaware it can leave them unprotected if something goes wrong with a purchase. The option lacks Section 75 and chargeback protections that shoppers get when paying through other methods. Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, a credit card company can be held jointly liable for a purchase that turns out to be shoddy or does not materialise. This means a shopper can potentially get a refund from the credit card company if they cannot recover their costs from a retailer. Those using a debit card or credit card for purchases can also potentially get their money back via the chargeback scheme. Which? said pay by bank is a "potential game changer" for businesses as they can sidestep card transaction fees and also benefit from receiving customer funds immediately. There is also appeal for shoppers as refunds can be processed instantly. Shopping discounts - How to make savings and find the best bargains While card details are not shared when making a transaction – eliminating the risk of them being stolen or compromised. People do have general purchase rights under the Consumer Rights Act, meaning that goods must be fit for purpose, as described and of satisfactory quality. But Which? said these protections are not always easy to enforce and in some cases may end up with people needing to go to a small claims court. People may also face difficulties in the event of a business going bust. This could particularly be the case if there is an issue with a future-dated purchase such as a flight, a festival, or a household big ticket purchase such as a kitchen or a sofa. Jenny Ross, Which? money editor, said: 'Innovations like pay by bank present opportunities for businesses and consumers alike, but they're not without risk, particularly as they lack the rigorous purchase protections you get when paying by card. 'We're calling on the regulator to act to ensure consumers can use pay by bank with confidence, but in the meantime, we'd urge consumers to think carefully before using it to book events or make substantial purchases – for now, your good old-fashioned credit or debit card may be the best option.' A spokesperson for banking and finance industry body UK Finance said: 'There are a range of options for making payments online which provides customers with choice as to how they wish to pay. "Different payment methods do come with different levels of protection and it's worth being aware of these when shopping online, particularly when making higher value purchases." What is Section 75 protection? Section 75 protection offers you consumer protection on credit card purchases worth between £100 and £30,000. It applies to any products or services you've bought that end up being faulty, broken, or were not delivered at all. It also covers you in the case a retailer you've bought from goes bust. Section 75 applies to goods bought online, over the phone or via mail order. You aren't covered by Section 75 if you bought anything with a debit card, but may be under chargeback. To make a claim under Section 75, you need to contact your credit card provider. It should then send you a claim form which you can fill in and your provider will use to process your application. Your card firm might ask you to provide evidence such as a receipt or a report verifying that the item is faulty. In the scenario where a retailer has not gone bust, you should complain to them first. If you find that your card company has been unhelpful and refused your claim, you can take your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
