Wizz Air and Ryanair battle for dominance in Eastern Europe

Fierce competition is emerging between budget airline giants at Bratislava Airport, as Ryanair quietly adds the same routes to its booking system shortly after Wizz Air’s high-profile announcement.

From late October, Ryanair will expand its Bratislava offering with seven new routes. Starting 26 October, daily flights will operate to Barcelona, and new connections will launch to Lamezia Terme, Palermo and Naples in Italy. The schedule will also feature the Spanish cities of Malaga and Alicante, as well as the Greek capital, Athens – Parameter.sk reports.

The launch of the Bratislava base

Wizz Air’s August announcement was accompanied by a high-profile campaign. On 13 August, the airline held a press conference with executives from Bratislava Airport to unveil plans for its new base.

Airport director Dušan Novota called the launch a “historic milestone” and projected that passenger numbers could grow from this year’s two million to as many as three million over the next few years.

Soon after, the Irish low-cost carrier quietly made tickets available for its seven new routes, doing so without a press conference and just weeks after Wizz Air revealed the same Bratislava services.

Wizz Air pulls out of Vienna

Following the successful base opening in Bratislava, Wizz Air is exiting operations at another nearby capital. After a strategic review, the airline has decided to gradually shut down its Vienna base. The first aircraft will be moved on 26 October, ending services to Bilbao and London Gatwick.

The remaining three planes will be withdrawn from Schwechat by 15 March 2026, marking the complete closure of the base, according to Airportal.hu.

Affected passengers will be offered rebooking or refunds, while the airline will offer job relocations elsewhere within its network to Vienna-based staff.