The Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA) in Greece briefly banned Wizz Air (W6, Budapest) from landing at Athens airport on August 1 due to the carrier's alleged non-compliance with procedures for collecting Passenger Locator Forms before boarding.
The dispute was resolved shortly thereafter and Wizz Air said that the ban, initially imposed through August 14, was lifted on August 2. There is no NOTAM in force preventing the carrier from landing in Greece or specifically in Athens. The low-cost carrier said it had asked its passengers to correctly fill in the forms and make sure they are collected.
The measure was implemented on July 24 to improve the traceability of potential COVID-19 cases in the country without undermining its crucial tourism sector. All passengers have to register on the Greek government's website the day before departure and complete the appropriate form. Airlines are responsible for only allowing passengers with proof of their registration on board. Passengers lacking the requisite registration will not be allowed into Greece with the airline having to bear the cost of their repatriation.
According to the ch-aviation capacities module, Wizz Air together with Wizz Air UK (W9, London Luton) is currently the fourth-largest airline in Greece in terms of international connectivity with a 4.3% market share by capacity on international routes and 22,252 departure seats in the week starting on August 3. Only Aegean Airlines with Olympic Air, Ryanair, and easyJet with easyJet Europe have larger shares of the market.
