Wizz Air UK has increased its footprint in the UK with a new base at Cardiff Airport – it’s fourth UK base alongside London Luton, Gatwick and Doncaster Sheffield. The airline will allocate one Airbus A321 aircraft to its Cardiff base launching nine new leisure routes to destinations including Alicante, Faro, Larnaca Tenerife.
Seasonal routes during the summer will also include Corfu, Heraklion and Palma de Mallorca and routes to Lanzarote and Sharm El Sheikh during the winter season. The new routes will increase the annual capacity of Cardiff Airport by more than 350,000 seats, providing local passengers with even more affordable and exciting travel opportunities on their doorstep.
Ken Skates, Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales described the news as “a positive step that will help Cardiff Airport emerge from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.” He added that the new Wizz services will “increase choice for passengers, create jobs and add to the airport’s economic benefits.”
Wizz Air’s first venture into Wales represents a significant investment in Cardiff Airport and a boost for the local economy as it is expected to create more than 40 direct jobs and more than 250 indirect jobs, supporting industries such as aviation, transportation, hospitality and tourism.
“The fact that one of the leading low-cost carriers in the world has chosen to set up their next base at Cardiff is fantastic news for Wales,” said Spencer Birns, interim CEO at Cardiff Airport. “The Wizz Air UK base will bring a huge amount of choice for our customers to travel to some of the most popular holiday destinations from Cardiff, at affordable prices. We know many people living in Wales are craving a well-deserved holiday after such a challenging year and these new flights will give so many more opportunities for holidays to be planned now that will give us all something to look forward to for new year.”
Meanwhile, Owain Jones, Managing Director of Wizz Air UK, added: “This expansion into Wales brings increased connectivity to the region, so passengers can take advantage of Wizz Air’s ultra-low fares to travel to their favourite sunny holiday spots on-board our young and green aircraft fleet. With the launch of 47 new routes from the UK alone this year, we’re making sure that passengers can make up for lost time in creating amazing travel memories.”
