Wizz Air , a low-cost airline based in Hungary, has stopped refueling its planes at Belgrade airport Nikola Tesla because of recent sanctions placed by the United States on Serbia's state-owned oil and gas corporation, NIS (Naftna Industrija Srbije), Serbian aviation news outlets Tango Six reported on January 22. At 15:00 local time on January 21, Wizz Air ceased using NIS gasoline, Tango Six said. The airline had to make major operational changes as a result of the sanctions.
In response, Wizz Air thus has to refuel its aircraft stationed in Belgrade while making technical landings in towns like Timisoara, Romania, or Budapest, Hungary. Although Wizz Air has minimized the impact on its flight schedule, the change has resulted in minor operational interruptions for the carrier departing Belgrade. US Sanctions target NIS On January 10, the US Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on NIS because of its connections to Gazprom Neft, a Russian business that has a majority interest in the company.
At Belgrade Airport , NIS is the only provider of aviation fuel. Despite the operational changes, Wizz Air assured that its overall flight schedule remains unaffected. A spokesperson for the airline responded to Tango Six and Serbia's web portal Blic Biznis that " Wizz Air confirms that the mentioned sanctions against fuel suppliers do not affect the airline's flight schedule .
The sanctions fall within the domain of legal matters, and the airline will not comment further on the matter.
