The airline Wizz Air Abu Dhabi actually wanted to fly between the capital of the United Arab Emirates and Moscow-Vnukovo again from autumn 2022 the plane. This plan has now been canceled and sales stopped.

While you are not allowed to fly to destinations in the Russian Federation with the Hungarian AOC due to the mutual airspace blockades, this would be possible with the certificate of the subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates. Wizz Air Abu Dhabi would not be the only provider either, but the one that is in the public spotlight due to its strong connection to Europe.

So it is not surprising that Wizz Air has received a veritable shit storm on social media. On the one hand, they advertise that they are giving free tickets to Ukrainian citizens and want to support them, and on the other hand, the UAE subsidiary wants to head back to the Russian capital. Countless reactions on social media show that this balancing act cannot succeed.

However, there is likely to be a completely different factor behind the decision to put Russia flights on hold indefinitely. The entire fleet of the Wizz Air Group is leased. A very large number of machines are owned by US lessors, and the listed parent company has large shareholders from the United States, for example IndiGo-Partners. The USA interprets the sanctions against Russia very strictly and also obliges American companies to ensure that their subsidiaries or affiliates abroad also comply with them. The consequence of this: Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is indirectly subjected to considerable pressure from the United States of America and because US companies would face hefty fines if they violate sanctions and the Wizz Air Group cannot do without the good business relationships with the USA, one does not have it really a choice.

Purely from the regulations, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi should fly to Russia with an AOC and operating license from the United Arab Emirates. However, only if you have also taken into account the landlord, i.e. the owners of the aircraft and the indirect major shareholders. Wizz Air probably didn't really consider the latter or underestimated the influence of US sanctions.

Then there is the shitstorm on social media. There were even calls for a boycott of the low coster. In view of the fact that flight irregularities have not exactly covered themselves with glory in recent months and that passenger rights have been interpreted so creatively, the Abu Dhabi-Moscow flights in Europe should not have exactly won new customers. The UAE subsidiary Wizz Air Abu Dhabi announced that the Moscow flights will be postponed indefinitely. Details were not given, but the sale has already been discontinued.