The government of (the Former Yugoslav Republic of) Macedonia again denied Wizz Air (W6, Budapest) subsidies for flights from Ohrid after the airline had not fulfilled the tender criteria, SEEbiz has reported.

According to the criteria in the tender, the subsidised airline would have to launch at least two new routes out of Ohrid prior to January 2019 and a further two within a year of signing the contract. The Hungarian LCC agreed to launch four new routes, but wanted to inaugurate them only during the Summer 2019 season, skipping the first January deadline.

Wizz Air was the only carrier that submitted a bid.

The tender was already the second after the previous subsidies at Ohrid expired in June 2018. During the first one, Wizz Air's offer was rejected due to incomplete information provided.

The government denied reports that it purposefully blocks Wizz Air in preparation for the expected launch of Air Albania (ZB, Tirana).

According to the ch-aviation capacity module, the LCC currently operates four weekly services to Ohrid, including three out of Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg, CH and one out of London Luton. The only other carrier at Ohrid operating year round is Germania Flug (Zurich), which flies 1x weekly to Zurich. Corendon Dutch Airlines (CD, Amsterdam Schiphol) and Nordica (ND, Tallinn Lennart Meri) also serve the airport on a seasonal basis from their bases at Amsterdam and Tallinn.