Central and Eastern Europe’s largest low-cost airline, Wizz Air, has become the first European airline to announce it will commence flights again, with services set to resume from London Luton Airport on 1 May. The airline is also planning to reopen its base in Timisoara, Romania..
The airline said it would be reinstating some of its flights “to provide an essential service to passengers who need to travel.” The resumption of flights is subject to no further government restrictions being announced.
Alongside flights to Romania, Wizz will serve destinations including Budapest in Hungary, Lisbon in Portugal, Bratislava in Slovakia, Belgrade in Serbia and Tenerife in Spain. New sanitary protocols will be in place. Aircraft will be disinfected overnight and crew will wear masks and gloves while passengers will be distributed sanitising wipes during their flight.
The airline has stated that, “Customers should check-in and make any purchases online, such as paying for additional bags to reduce non-essential interaction at the airport.”
Earlier in April, Wizz’s CEO Jozsef Varadi said the company was making plans to leave a third of seats empty on its aircraft to allow more space between passengers.
Wizz Air’s Managing Director Owain Jones underlined that, “As we restart selected Luton flights to provide an essential service to passengers who need to travel, our primary concern is the health, safety and well-being of our customers and crew.”
Current UK government advice is for Britons to avoid all non-essential travel indefinitely. EasyJet, has currently grounded all its flights and its staff have been given a two-month leave of absence, suggesting a temporary return date in June. Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary has confirmed a normal schedule of commercial flights won’t return until at least mid-June.
