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Buzz (Polish airline)

Buzz is a Polish low-cost airline headquartered in Warsaw.[2] Formerly called Ryanair Sun,[3] it is a subsidiary of the Irish airline company Ryanair Holdings and a sister airline of Ryanair DAC, Ryanair UK, Malta Air and Lauda Europe.

Formed in 2017 and initially positioned as a charter airline without any scheduled services, Buzz operates scheduled flights on behalf of Ryanair, and charter flights in its own right, out of Poland.[4] In March 2019, Ryanair announced that Ryanair Sun would be rebranded as Buzz in autumn 2019.[5] Buzz commenced operations in January 2020.

History

Initial operations as charter airline

On 3 April 2018, the carrier received an air operator's certificate granted by the Polish Civil Aviation Authority. It started operations on 23 April 2018 and the first flight took place on 26 April 2018, on the route from Poznań–Ławica Airport to Zakynthos International Airport. In Poznan and Wroclaw the carrier will use the infrastructure of already existing bases, while in Katowice and Warsaw new ones were created.

Representatives of the carrier announced that all five aircraft in the Ryanair Sun fleet would receive Polish registration numbers.[6] During summer 2018, Ryanair Sun operated one own Boeing 737-800 registered as SP-RSA. The aircraft was employed on charter flights from Warsaw Chopin Airport.[7]

Operations on behalf of Ryanair mainline

In September 2018, Ryanair announced the closure of its own Polish bases by 1 January 2019. Operations were to be transferred to Ryanair Sun, meaning Ryanair Sun would operate on behalf of its parent company. In late October 2018, the then-only Ryanair Sun aircraft SP-RSA ceased charter operations out of Warsaw Chopin. The aircraft subsequently replaced Ryanair mainline capacity out of Warsaw Modlin Airport, now operating scheduled services on behalf of its parent company.[8] Starting from November 2018, several former Ryanair-operated Boeing 737 aircraft were moved from the Irish to the Polish registry and now operated by Ryanair Sun on behalf of its parent companies scheduled flights out of Poland.

Rebranding to Buzz

In March 2019, Ryanair announced that the airline would be rebranded as "Buzz" in autumn 2019.[9] Buzz was formerly the name of a UK budget airline Ryanair bought from KLM in April 2003.[10] Buzz will still operate scheduled and charter flights from its bases in Poland, Czechia, and Bulgaria and aimed to expand its fleet from 17 Boeing 737-800 aircraft to 25 by summer 2019.[11]

Fleet

As of September 2025, Buzz operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet composed of the following aircraft:[12][13]

Accidents and incidents

  • On 23 May 2021, Ryanair Flight 4978, operated by Buzz, was diverted to Minsk National Airport after a false bomb threat was made while the aircraft was 45 nautical miles (83 km; 52 mi) south of Vilnius and 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) west of Minsk, but still in Belarusian airspace.[14][15] According to the airline, its pilots were notified by Belarusian authorities of "a potential security threat on board" and told to land the plane in Minsk.[16] In Minsk, Belarusian journalist and opposition activist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend were deplaned and arrested.[17] Although the plane was closer to Vilnius, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, according to his press service, personally ordered the flight to be redirected to Minsk and sent Belarusian Air Force MiG-29 fighter aircraft to escort it.[14] Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called for an ICAO investigation of the incident.[18]
  • On 10 December 2023, smoke filled the cabin of a Boeing 737 MAX 200 (registration SP-RZG) during preparations for departure of flight FR 4626 from Arlanda Airport (ARN), Sweden to Kraków Airport (KRK), Poland.[19]

See also

  • Ryanair Flight 4978

External links

References

  1. Ryanair investor.ryanair.com, retrieved 8 February 2024^
  2. Joanna Plucinska. Ryanair vs Wizz Air: The low-cost fight spreads to Poland Reuters, 18 October 2023^
  3. Patrick Whyte. Wizz Air Thinks It Has a Simplicity Advantage Over Ryanair Skift, 13 November 2019, retrieved 31 January 2024^
  4. Mart Dwyer. Ryanair Announce New Charter Airline – Ryanair Sun 4 April 2017^
  5. Ryanair Sun To Be Rebranded As Buzz In Autumn 2019 14 March 2019, retrieved 26 April 2019^
  6. Startują nowe linie czarterowe - Ryanair Sun.^
  7. FlightRadar24 data^
  8. Flight history for aircraft - SP-RSA retrieved 27 March 2020^
  9. Ryanair's Polish arm to rebrand as Buzz Business Traveller, 14 March 2019, retrieved 31 January 2024^
  10. Geoff Percival. Ryanair rebrands in Poland as Buzz Irish Examiner, 14 March 2019, retrieved 31 January 2024^
  11. Ryanair resurrects Buzz brand for Polish airline operation retrieved 27 March 2020^
  12. Global Airline Guide 2025 - Buzz (Ryanair) Airliner World, September 2025^
  13. Commercial www.boeing.com, retrieved 2025-10-23^
  14. Belarus diverts plane to arrest activist journalist – DW – 05/23/2021 dw.com, retrieved 2025-08-07^
  15. Ryanair flight forced to land in Belarus with top activist on board ABC News, retrieved 2025-08-07^
  16. Western powers voice outrage as Belarus accused of hijacking plane BBC News, 2021-05-24, retrieved 2025-08-07^
  17. Belarus Forces Down Plane to Seize Dissident; Europe Sees 'State Hijacking' (Published 2021) 2021-05-23, retrieved 2025-08-07^
  18. EU, NATO Demand Belarus Explain 'Forcible' Diversion Of Passenger Plane, Detention Of Journalist Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 2021-05-23, retrieved 2025-08-07^
  19. Buzz B737 Max evacuated at Stockholm Arlanda airport after smoke fills cabin^