Wizz Air withdraws from Cardiff amid ‘challenging economic environment’

Wizz Air’s operations at Cardiff airport will cease permanently later this month, the budget carrier has confirmed.

The airline’s two routes to Milan and Bucharest will end from January 25 after a reduction in flight schedules from the Welsh airport announced last September.

Affected customers will be notified via e-mail and can opt for either a 120% refund of the original fare in airline credit, a 100% cash refund, or an alternative flight via Birmingham, Bristol, Gatwick, Leeds, Liverpool or Luton.

Cardiff-based staff will be offered redeployment opportunities at other Wizz Air bases in the UK.

The withdrawal follows the closure of a base at Doncaster Sheffield last summer.

Wizz Air UK managing director Marion Geoffroy said: “The challenging macro-economic environment and high operational costs including fuel mean that unfortunately we are unable to continue operating from Cardiff airport.

“We sincerely apologise to our customers in Wales and the south west of England for the disruption and inconvenience that this will cause.

 “Our priority now is to ensure that all affected customers are contacted directly with clear advice on their options, and to look after our Cardiff based colleagues and crew.

 “Wizz Air continues to offer low fares from eight other UK airports, including Bristol, Birmingham, London Gatwick, and London Luton.

Wizz Air has based two new aircraft across UK airports in the past 12 months and launched new routes to destinations, including Agadir, Amman, Dubrovnik, Faro, Lyon, Marrakesh, Nice, Prague, Sharm El Sheikh, Tallinn and Verona.

The airline added: “The remainder of the company’s network continues to evolve and grow, with passenger numbers in the year to 31 December 2022 up 110% to 45.7 million and capacity up 82.4% to 52.7 million seats.”