Wizz Air expresses interest in acquiring TAROM domestic routes

Wizz Air CEO József Váradi has expressed interest in acquiring the domestic flight network currently operated by Romania’s state-owned carrier, TAROM. In an interview with the Romanian news portal ‘Hot News’, Váradi questioned the economic viability of continuing state subsidies for the loss-making national airline, suggesting that from a purely business perspective, ceasing TAROM’s operations would be the logical conclusion.

Wizz Air is considering using smaller Airbus A320 aircraft to make Romanian domestic routes more viable, a strategic shift from previous plans that ruled out domestic services due to the high capacity of their A321 fleet. The airline already operates domestic networks in Italy and plans to expand into Spain by late 2026.

TAROM management has rejected the proposal, describing it as ‘unstructured and unserious.’ The state carrier argued that Wizz Air’s history of short-term route cancellations in Romania makes them an unreliable successor and warned that a dominant low-cost carrier might not guarantee stable connectivity for the population. TAROM is currently undergoing a restructuring process approved by the European Commission with the goal of returning to profitability.