Belavia (B2, Minsk National) is considering offering low-cost flights from some of Belarus's regional airports, the director of the country's Department of Aviation (DoA), Artem Sikorsky, told TV channel STV. The move comes after the regulator signed a memorandum with the Hungarian civil aviation authority (Légügyi Igazgatóság - LUI) to allow ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) Wizz Air access to the country's regional airports.
"We are considering operating Belavia flights according to the low-cost business model," Sikorsky said. "We have the right aircraft; we have regional airports that are able to provide low rates for handling these aircraft. We are now working on the geography of the flights - which destinations passengers would be interested to fly to using the low-cost model."
The accord with the Hungarian CAA was agreed in order to allow Wizz Air flights to both Minsk National and Belarus regional airports such as Brest, BY, Grodno and Gomel. The airline is currently negotiating with Minsk on service levels and airport charges.
In October 2019, the Belarus Minister of Transport, Alexei Avramenko, announced that Wizz Air was planning to commence flights from Budapest to Minsk in Spring 2020. Earlier in the year, there were also rumours that Wizz Air was considering launching flights to Grodno in western Belarus - yet neither route is presently on sale.
The DOA director added that in order to ensure low fares, LCCs usually require certain subsidies, a measure that he is not prepared to consider for a foreign company. He did conclude, however: "We are ready to offer comfortable conditions for them to fly."
Belavia is by far the largest carrier in Belarus, commanding 76% of weekly capacity in the country, with Aeroflot (SU, Moscow Sheremetyevo) in a distant second spot with 9%. The airline operates an eclectic mix of aircraft including six B737-300s, six B737-500s, eight B737-800s, a single CRJ200, two CRJ-200(ER)s, four E175s, and seven E195s. Also, it operates a single B737-800(BBJ) and a single B767-300(ER) for the Belarus government.
Currently, no LCCs are operating to any airport in Belarus, and there are no year-round scheduled air services outside of the capital city of Minsk, according to the ch-aviation schedules module.
