- Wizz Air offered to take over all TAROM domestic routes
- TAROM rejected proposal as completely unrealistic
- European courts have dismissed Wizz Air state aid appeals
- Wizz Air commands 51.3pc of Romanian aviation market
- TAROM maintains hub-and-spoke domestic monopoly
Wizz Air has offered to take over the entire domestic route network of Romania’s state-owned flag carrier TAROM under a long-term contract. József Váradi, CEO of the Hungarian ultra-low-cost carrier, has publicly made the proposal, calling the loss-making state airline a waste of money and arguing that Romania does not need to subsidise it. Wizz Air, which commands a 51.3pc market share in Romania, has proposed managing these internal operations to improve efficiency and reduce the strain on Romanian taxpayers.
TAROM has explicitly rejected the offer, categorising Wizz Air’s pitch as completely unrealistic and unfeasible for a national carrier. This friction follows years of legal battles, with Wizz Air repeatedly challenging the European Commission’s approval of millions in state aid subsidies intended to keep TAROM afloat. European courts have continually dismissed Wizz Air’s appeals, with the European Court of Justice previously ruling that TAROM’s regional connectivity represents a critical public infrastructure that point-to-point budget airlines cannot easily replicate.
Wizz Air has continued to expand aggressively across 14 Romanian airports, even as TAROM has defended its traditional hub-and-spoke domestic monopoly connecting regional cities to Bucharest. The airline’s proposal has come as TAROM continues to operate loss-making domestic routes that are considered essential for regional connectivity, with the Romanian Government maintaining its support for the national carrier despite ongoing financial challenges.
József Váradi, CEO of Wizz Air, shared: “The loss-making state airline is a waste of money and Romania does not need to subsidise it.”
