Due to worries about the security of its airspace, Wizz Air has announced that all flights to the Moldovan capital Chisinau will be canceled starting on March 14.
Earlier this month, a Russian missile was launched over Moldovan airspace.
The airline's decision was criticized by Moldova's civil aviation authority as being rash and regrettable.
Moldova has one of the poorest economies in Europe and has been severely impacted by the conflict in Ukraine.
The airline stated: "Passenger and crew safety continues to be Wizz Air's top priority.
"In light of recent events in Moldova and the elevated but not immediate risk in the nation's airspace, Wizz Air has decided to suspend all flights to Chisinau beginning on March 14. This was a difficult but responsible decision. ".
The airline requested approval for its summer flight schedule on 14 February, according to Moldova's civil aviation authority, and the agency "determined that flights in the national airspace can be carried out safely by following a number of procedures.".
The authority promised to take "all necessary actions" to lure other low-cost airlines and quickly bring Wizz Air back to the airport in Chisinau.
As a replacement for the Chisinau service, Wizz Air announced that there would be more flights from across Europe to Iasi, a city in eastern Romania close to the Moldovan border.
Moscow and the government of Moldova have been at odds more recently.
Moldova, which is sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, applied to join the EU last summer.
In addition to tensions with Transnistria, a secessionist pro-Moscow region where 1,500 Russian soldiers are stationed, the nation of 2.6 million people has also struggled with an influx of refugees from Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, claimed earlier this month that Kyiv's intelligence agency had discovered a Russian plot to destroy Moldova.
Additionally, Moldovan President Maia Sandu has accused Russia of attempting to overthrow Moldova's government with the help of saboteurs from Serbia, Belarus, Montenegro, and Russia.
She claimed that their goal would be to attack government structures, take hostages, and then incite uprisings to depose the current administration and install one "at the service of Russia.".
In the meantime, the Russian defense ministry has claimed—without providing any proof—that Ukrainian saboteurs disguising themselves as Russian soldiers would launch an invasion from Transnistria.
