Using the rules of the seventh freedom, the Hungarian low-cost airline Wizzair plans to open its base in St. Petersburg in December 2020. This step has been postponed several times due to the corona pandemic. Company boss Jozsef Varadi hopes for further liberalization in the Russian Federation and does not rule out further expansion.

In order to boost tourism, Russia eased the entry requirements for the city of St. Petersburg. For example, a traditional visa is no longer necessary if you come from many countries, but an electronic visa that can be obtained online is sufficient. The rules for the airlines were also relaxed. However, they have to register with the authorities if they want to benefit from the seventh freedom. Wizzair was the first EU airline to take this step.

“When we talk about St. Petersburg, we hope that this is only the first step, and when the legislation is liberalized we can have a presence in other regions. Russia is a wonderful market and we want it to open up from a regulatory perspective. We are ready to support such initiatives in every possible way and to expand our presence in the market, ”said Wizzair CEO Varadi during a press conference.

The manager assumes that easing the issue of visas will also lead to an increase in demand. This would be an important step for the industry and would help them during the difficult times. However, Varadi is not only focusing on Russia, but also Georgia and Armenia. We are already present in both countries, but we want to expand this further: "We are closely monitoring the situation in these countries and if these markets are liberalized we will definitely pay attention and quickly deploy or deploy capacities in these countries".