Wizz Air expects Abu Dhabi to beat global traffic growth

Reuters/Federico Maccioni

Abu Dhabi will likely beat global passenger volume growth of 15-20 percent next year, driven by new low-cost routes to the Middle East, Wizz Air CEO Jozsef Varadi has said.

“I think Abu Dhabi is going to grow beyond this,” he said.

Based in Hungary, the airline established its operations in Abu Dhabi in 2019 through a joint venture with sovereign wealth fund ADQ.

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Varadi said that Wizz Air is focusing on developing Saudi Arabia as an inbound market rather than setting up a local carrier in the kingdom.

Last week, the airline said it will deploy its first A321XLR, a single-aisle aircraft, on a route between London’s Gatwick airport and Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah starting in March 2025.

Another A321XLR will be used for a daily flight between Milan’s Malpensa Airport and Abu Dhabi from June next year.

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These new routes are subject to regulatory approvals and potential capacity constraints due to issues with Pratt & Whitney engines, Varadi said in an interview with Reuters.

The engine issues forced the airline to ground part of its fleet, resulting in a 44 percent decline in first-quarter operating profit, the CEO said.