Dubai: Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s newest airline, operated more than 1,080 flights since its launch in January 2021, with 506 flights taking place in the fourth quarter of the year.
During its first operational year, the carrier launched more than 34 destinations, including Alexandria (Egypt), Athens (Greece), Baku (Azerbaijan), Bahrain, Belgrade (Serbia), and Tel Aviv (Israel).
“We are proud of what has been achieved since launching our operations in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Through collaboration with key stakeholders, we have been able to grow and expand our network to more than 34 destinations despite all the challenges we have faced,” said Kees Van Schaick, Managing Director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi.
“Our aim is to serve a large segment of travellers and provide them with affordable packages with great memories and experiences to remember,” said Van Schaick.
No Omicron hit
Earlier this month, the Wizz Air executive told Gulf News that the airline had not been impacted by the Omicron variant.
“We do not see that impacting the traffic of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi – to the contrary, we are seeing improving load factors,” said Van Schaick on the sidelines of an event in Abu Dhabi. Since then the variant has been reported all over the world, with community transmission in countries like UK and France.
Expansion plans
Apart from serving Europe and the Gulf region, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has plans to launch flights to India as well. A recent order placed by Indigo Partners – Wizz Air’s parent firm – includes longer range Airbus A321XLR aircraft and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is counting on adding some of those to the fleet
“The crew can operate at a five-hour distance from Abu Dhabi and come back again the same day,” said Van Schaick on the sidelines of the airshow. With the XLR, “that number will become seven hours and we’ll be able to reach Western Europe, Africa and the Indian Subcontinent”.
