Globes reports that the management of the Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air may abandon plans to open a base in Israel in light of problems that arose during negotiations with Israeli government authorities.
According to Globes, one of the stumbling blocks, as expected, was Wizz Air’s demand for “seventh freedom of air” – namely the right to fly from Israel to countries outside the European Union, while being a European airline not subject to Israeli regulation.
The airline says that without this freedom, the economic model for its base in Israel becomes untenable.
In addition, disagreements remain over flights to Eilat and the obligation to fly to Israel even in wartime.