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The piece above was written because ofHungary's WizzAir announced on Nov. 20 that it will consider pulling out of Ukraine because of new government regulations that stifle competition.
The recent warning by the budget airline WizzAir that it is considering pulling out of the Ukrainian market is extremely worrying.
The primary concern is that the reason cited by WizzAir was mainly the new aviation rules for international flights in Ukraine adopted by the government.
On top of that, the rules take away any stimuli for Ukrainian airlines for improvement and erode their ability to compete on international markets in the longer term.
They will also become a major blow for the reputation of the Ukrainian government.
The exit of WizzAir, a major international player, from Ukraine's market would be a scandalous affair that would get a lot of coverage from western media.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-2 ... uture.html .
An “order of designations” requiring carriers to be more than 50 percent Ukraine-owned and offer domestic flights along with international ones can be satisfied only by flag-carrier Ukraine International Airlines, the Kiev-based unit said
“Wizz Air Ukraine is deeply concerned by this document as it contains a number of restrictions which signal a major step back,” it said in a statement.
“The new order goes against the liberalization of the Ukrainian aviation market and the general wish to harmonize regulations with the European Union.”
...and asUkraine’s National Aviation Service adopted new procedures for issuing and cancelling route rights on Oct. 24, Kiev-based newspaper Kapital reported yesterday, citing NAS Chairman Denys Antonyuk.
The decree was registered by the Ministry of Justice on Nov. 13, with the document to be officially published in the local press in coming days, it said, citing Antonyuk.
Less Choice
The measures, with which carriers must comply within a year, will pare the number of routes, restrict customer choice between airlines and increase air fares, Wizz Air Ukraine said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-2 ... uture.html
shows Wizz Air cannot fly Ukraine domestic flights. It would mean making huge losses.