Wizz Air to resume flights from Abu Dhabi to Russia

(CNN) — As the invasion of Ukraine enters its sixth month, Russia remains cut off from the international community. International brands are still boycotting the country, while airlines and countries are imposing flight bans and sanctions.

But one airline has decided to open a route back to Russia in response to what it says is passenger demand.

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has announced that it will restart flights from Abu Dhabi to Moscow, with tickets now on sale from 3 October.

Founded in December 2019, the company is the UAE subsidiary of Wizz Air, one of the fastest growing budget airlines in Europe, headquartered in Hungary. Wizz Air owns 49%, with a majority of 51% owned by state-owned ADQ. Wizz also has another subsidiary, Wizz Air UK, which was originally set up to alleviate the problems of Brexit.

A spokesperson for Wizz Air said in a statement:

“Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates and operates in accordance with the national regulations and policies of the UAE. The airline is resuming operations to Moscow to meet the travel needs of passengers wishing to travel to and from Russia from the UAE capital. All Emirates national airlines The company is currently operating direct flights to Russia.”

“Hungarian Wizz Air and British Wizz Air currently have no flights to Russia,” it added. Flights to Russia from the U.K. and the European Union are currently banned.

Etihad Airways, Emirates and flydubai are the airlines that fly from the United Arab Emirates to Russia. Wizz initially launched the route in December 2021, then suspended it when Russia invaded Ukraine.

However, it remains to be seen whether passengers will understand the differences between airlines. Crisis communications consultant Mark Borkowski told CNN the airline could go wrong — saying Wizz’s rivals will be watching closely.

“We are now starting to see many brands starting to check their resolve, and as events drag on, virtue signaling will give way to commercial intent,” he said.

“I hope this decision will be of great interest. It could be a disaster – but the bigger issue is fatigue. Certain commercial interests will prevail. Still, this is a risky move and may change a profound PR target” – a football term meaning self-inflicted disaster.

Wizz Air Hungary – the umbrella organization – currently offers 100,000 free flights to Ukrainian passport holders through its network.