As coronavirus hits tourism, Wizz Air finds new role

Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Airis repatriating citizens and transporting medical equipment for east European governments, in a move coupling one-off charter traffic with savvy government relations amid the coronavirus crisis. Wizz Air is one of several airlines involved in the largest peacetime repatriation effort in Europe as travel firms turn their attention from tourists to serving governments. "We try to do the right thing," Wizz Air CE Jozsef Varadi said. "Yes, governments and other institutions pay for the flights, but this is not the time to make a profit ... The most important issue here is to help." Wizz charged passengers $880 on one repatriation flight from the US, with the Budapest government picking up the rest of the tab and securing onboard meals. The carrier is deploying 10% of its fleet and 200 staff in the effort, which included its first ever transatlantic flights as Airbus jets acquired to serve Europe's tourist boom zig-zagged across the United States and stopped in Iceland for fuel.<br/>