Wizz Air announces new base in Bari, 7 new routes in Italy

The airline announced three new routes from Bari to Bologna, Turin, Verona, three new routes from Milan Malpensa to Naples, Brindisi, Lamezia Terme, and one new route connecting Catania with Verona, starting from December 2020. The Bari-Milan Malpensa route’s frequency will be raised from seven to eleven flights per week.

Wizz Air started flying to Bari in 2010, and since then has carried almost 1 million passengers to and from the city. The base establishment will create over 40 new direct jobs, according to a press release sent to the Budapest Business Journal.

George Michalopoulos, chief commercial officer at Wizz Air, noted that the announcement underlines the airlineʼs commitment to Italy and the strength of the Wizz Air business model, as the business continues to expand its footprint even during the current challenging times for the aviation industry.

"The creation of our third base in Italy with one state-of-the-art modern aircraft emphasizes the importance of the Italian market for our operations. We’re delighted to introduce new ultra-low fares domestic routes - three from Bari, three from Milan Malpensa, one connecting Verona and Catania. By keeping ourselves to the highest standards of our sanitizing protocols, we are confident that Wizz Air’s attractive fares and great route network will make travel affordable to ever more passengers in Italy," he said.

Tiziano Onesti, president of Aeroporti di Puglia, added that the agreement with Wizz air "...Seals a collaboration that began in 2009 and developed in continuity with AdPʼs strategy of expanding the markets served, with particular reference to the emerging markets of Eastern Europe, as well as diversifying the offer from part of international and low-cost carriers. With this agreement, AdP and Wizz Air are also focusing on the national market which immediately represents the main driver of a hoped-for rapid recovery in air transport. It is not just about inaugurating or announcing a route; today Wizz opens a base in Puglia, we become even more partners and we share together the development of Connections that see Bari, first, and Brindisi, later, as points of reference for a shared growth of the network. This is the sense of opening an operational base in Puglia, not just a simple destination but a location that is part of a broader and therefore strategic industrial project. All this in order to re-engage the traffic growth dynamics of the Apulian airports, already programmed in the Strategic Plan."

"Furthermore, despite the contingent pandemic crisis situation, Wizz Air is strengthening and renewing the air fleet with the new low emission A321 Neo, in line with the objectives that AdP also sets itself, among the few European airports adhering to the Global Compact of the UN, for the protection of the environment. The agreement with Wizz Air can only help stimulate all operators in the Apulian Territory, public and private, in order to create, together with the airports, an ecosystem that allows Puglia to continue to be a place of attraction for tourist flows. of industrial settlements, research and development, and opportunities," he said.