Wizz Air Applies for UK Air Operator Certificate
London, 18 October 2017: Wizz Air UK Limited ("Wizz Air UK"), a fully owned and controlled subsidiary of Wizz Air Holdings Plc (the "Company" or "Wizz Air"), the largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, announces that it has filed an application for the grant of an Air Operator's Certificate ("AOC") and Operating Licence ("OL") with the Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom ("CAA").
Subject to receipt of its AOC and OL from the CAA, Wizz Air UK will begin operations in the UK in March 2018 with several UK-registered aircraft. The London Luton operating base of Wizz Air Hungary Ltd. ("Wizz Air Hungary") will become a Wizz Air UK operation which will see the Company invest in local resources employing more than 100 people (management, pilots and cabin crew) by end of 2018. Routes not taken over by Wizz Air UK will continue to be operated by Wizz Air Hungary, maintaining and continuing to expand the group's network of 41 routes from London Luton.
Wizz Air Chief Executive Officer, József Váradi commented: "We are pleased to announce that we are seeking a UK AOC and Operating Licence, further signalling our commitment to the important UK market. It is a natural, next-step in the development of our UK business and will bring additional investment and jobs to our UK base at London Luton. The UK remains the single biggest travel market in Europe and we are currently the UK's 8th largest operator and this move is also part of our broader strategy to ensure that our UK operations are Brexit-ready. We look forward to working with the CAA to take this application forward."
Wizz Air's Commitment to the UK
Wizz Air's first ever flight in May 2004 was from Katowice to London Luton. Today WIZZ's UK network consists of 73 routes to 41 destinations from 9 airports. In the past 12 months, Wizz Air carried more than 7 million passengers on its low-fare UK routes, representing 14% growth year on year and supporting over 5,400 local jobs in associated industries*. Since the beginning of operations more than 40 million passengers have chosen to travel with WIZZ on its UK routes, taking advantage of its low fares from the UK to Central and Eastern Europe.