Wizz Air to open 28th base at London Luton
Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air has announced it will be opening its 28th base at London Luton Airport on June 18, adding a new Airbus A320 aircraft, according to a press statement sent to the Budapest Business Journal today. London Luton, which has operated Wizz Air flights for over twelve years, will be the airline’s first U.K. airport with base operations.
Establishing this base will strengthen Wizz Air’s operational presence at London Luton Airport, where it is already the second largest carrier, and increase the number of routes being served from the airport to 42, the airlineʼs statement notes.
The establishment of the base represents an investment in the airport and the local region by creating 36 direct jobs with the airline. Operations will also contribute to the local economy, supporting jobs in the aviation, transportation, hospitality and tourism industries, Wizz Air claims.
The three new Wizz Air services will connect London Luton with Tel Aviv in Israel, Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, and Kutaisi in Georgia, the latter being the only direct connection between Georgia and the U.K.
Frequencies on Wizz Air’s most popular routes to Romania will also increase with the arrival of the new aircraft: flights to Suceava will run five times per week, to Constanta four times per week, and to Iasi daily.
In 2016, as the second largest operator at London Luton, Wizz Air carried more than 5 million passengers. In 2017, the airline will put almost 6.3 million seats on sale on its London Luton routes, representing a 13% growth year-on-year.
Wizz Air’s first flight took off from Luton to Katowice in Poland in May 2004, and today the network consists of 83 routes to 42 destinations from nine U.K. airports. In 2016, Wizz Air carried more than 6.6 million passengers on its U.K. routes, representing a 30% growth year-on-year, supporting almost 5,000 local jobs in associated industries, the airline claims.
“Today’s announcement once again underlines Wizz Air’s commitment to the U.K. Our first Wizz Air flight from the U.K. took off from London Luton in 2004, and since then we have carried over 35 million passengers on our low-fare U.K. routes,” said József Váradi, CEO of Wizz Air.
“Wizz is bringing direct connections and the lowest-fare opportunities to our customers in the U.K. to explore everything that the CEE region has to offer, whether visiting friends and family, taking city breaks, exploring undiscovered countryside or sophisticated sea and ski resorts,” Váradi added. “By establishing base operations at London Luton, where Wizz is already the second largest operator and an important supporter of local jobs with our business partners, we are also creating direct local jobs with one of Europe’s fastest-growing airlines for the first time.”
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