Hungarian low-fares airline Wizz Air has announced a new base at Gatwick Airport, which will be the third base for Wizz Air UK, the group’s UK-registered and based airline, alongside London Luton and the recently announced Doncaster Sheffield.
The airline will allocate one Airbus A321 aircraft to the South London hub and launch four new routes to leisure destinations in Greece, Italy, Spain and Malta from October 22 2020. With the new base at Gatwick, Wizz Air will offer passengers more travel opportunities, with 450,000 seats per annum on sale on its new routes.
The new routes include London Gatwick – Lanzarote, operating on Monday, Wednesday, Friday starting October 23, 2020 for fares starting from £26.99; London Gatwick – Athens, operating on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday starting October 22, 2020 for fares starting from £26.99; London Gatwick – Malta, operating on Monday, Wednesday, Friday starting October 23, 2020 for fares starting from £21.99; and London Gatwick – Naples, operating on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday starting October 22, 2020 for fares starting from £21.99 2020 for fares starting from £26.99. Tickets are now available on wizzair.com or the WIZZ mobile app, with fares starting from £21.99 one-way, including taxes, administration and other non-optional charges.
This announcement follows the recent expansion at Doncaster Sheffield, its first regional base, where the airline will allocate one Airbus A321 aircraft and launch seven new routes to destinations including Alicante, Malaga, Larnaca, Faro, Lublin, Kosice and Suceava in October 2020.
Owain Jones, Managing Director of Wizz Air UK said: ‘Already the fourth largest airline group operating in the UK, today’s announcement of our new Gatwick base and four new routes reinforces Wizz Air UK’s position as a British airline that is growing, creating new jobs, bringing much-needed connectivity to the UK and so helping the economy get back in the air. Following on from last week’s announcement of a new Wizz Air UK base at Doncaster Sheffield Airport, we stand ready to continue to support the UK’s recovery with further growth at key airports, if slot-blocking by other airlines is stopped allowing WIZZ to deliver on our promise of providing affordable travel for all.’
Stewart Wingate, CEO at Gatwick Airport, said: ‘This is encouraging news for Gatwick, particularly at a time when the industry has been so negatively impacted by COVID-19. Having a new aircraft based at Gatwick underpins the resilience of our business for the long-term and ensures we continue to offer our passengers great choice. This is a welcome indication of the positive conversations we are having with airlines – both existing and new – about securing Gatwick’s future.’
