Wizz Air (W6, Budapest) has announced in a statement to Reuters that it would cut its network from Hungary to just 32 weekly departures as of September 7, 2020, after the government announced the closure of the country to nearly all foreigners.
The airline said that it would continue operating the most popular routes out of Hungary but that most of its services would be suspended between September 7 and 30.
According to the ch-aviation schedules module, Wizz Air scheduled 358 departures out of Hungary in the week starting August 30, 2020, with a total of 74,880 departure seats. The low-cost carrier serves Budapest and Debrecen in the country, operating international routes exclusively. Hungary is currently Wizz Air's fifth-largest origin market, after Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom, and Italy, with a 7.6% market share by departure capacity.
Wizz Air is also by far the largest airline in Hungary at this time with a 59.9% market share by capacity. Ryanair (FR, Dublin International), the second-ranked carrier, controls 18.8%.
As of September 1, Hungary's borders will be closed to nearly all foreigners, except for a limited number of exceptions including essential workers and expatriates travelling on business involving Hungarian firms. All Hungarians returning home, regardless of their country of embarcation, will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine and test twice for COVID-19, all of which must be paid out of their own pockets.
