Due to worries about the security of its airspace, Wizz Air has announced that all flights to the Moldovan capital Chisinau would be canceled starting on March 14.
Earlier this month, a Russian missile was launched over Moldovan airspace.
The airline’s decision was criticized by Moldova’s civil aviation authority as being rash and unfortunate.
Moldova has one of the worst economies in Europe and has been severely impacted by the conflict in Ukraine.
“Safety of the passengers and crew is Wizz Air’s top concern,” the carrier declared.
Wizz Air has decided to stop all flights to Chisinau beginning on March 14 due to recent developments in Moldova and the higher, but not immediate, risk in the nation’s airspace.
The airline requested approval for its summer flight schedule on 14 February, according to Moldova’s civil aviation authority, and the agency “decided that flights in the national airspace may be carried out safely by following a number of measures.”
The administration promised to take “all necessary efforts” to lure other low-cost carriers and quickly bring Wizz Air back to the airport in Chisinau.
In place of the Chisinau service, Wizz Air said more flights would be available from around Europe to Iasi in eastern Romania, which is close to the Moldovan border.
Moscow and the government of Moldova have been at odds more recently.
Moldova, which is sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, applied to join the EU last summer.
The 2.6 million-person nation has experienced difficulties due to the flood of refugees from Ukraine and tensions with Transnistria, a secessionist pro-Moscow territory that is home to 1,500 Russian military.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, claimed earlier this month that Kyiv’s intelligence agency had discovered a Russian plot to destroy Moldova.
Moreover, Moldovan President Maia Sandu has accused Moscow of attempting to overthrow Moldova’s government with the help of saboteurs from Serbia, Belarus, Montenegro, and Russia.
She claimed that their goal would be to target government structures, take hostages, and then incite uprisings to depose the current administration and install one “at the service of Russia.”
In the meantime, the Russian defense ministry has claimed—without providing any proof—that Ukrainian saboteurs disguising themselves as Russian soldiers would launch an invasion from Transnistria.