EXCLUSIVE Aviation Wizz Air increases flights from UAE to Israel after ceasefire By Megha Merani January 16, 2025, 4:42 PM Wizz Air Wizz Air Abu Dhabi reported growth of more than 20 percent in 2024 Tel Aviv-Abu Dhabi was scaled back Airline looks at Syria and Lebanon Abu Dhabi ‘one of fastest growing’ The budget carrier Wizz Air is increasing the number of flights between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. The airline had previously scaled back its Tel Aviv-Abu Dhabi service to four flights a week because of the conflict, down from its pre-crisis schedule of two flights a day. “We have a couple of markets opening up naturally because of places like Israel and Jordan, which are now coming back,” Johan Eidhagen, managing director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, told AGBI. “We need to put in more capacity, not because there hasn’t been demand but because of restrictions or the geopolitical situation. “We’re not political,” Eidhagen said. “We don’t fly because of politics, but we try to satisfy the demand, which is in the market. We want to come back to normality. I think it’s going to be a natural demand. It will continue to grow as demand picks up.” Wizz Air expects Abu Dhabi to beat global traffic growth Conflict risk leads Gulf airlines to cancel regional routes Wars have skewed effects on Middle East tourism Wizz Air, which returned to Israel in December with flights to and from Larnaca, also relaunched additional Israel routes globally on Wednesday, resuming operations after months of a de facto suspension. Most airlines have cancelled flights to Israel because of tensions in the region but Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Wednesday announced a US-brokered ceasefire which it is hoped will bring an end to 15 months of conflict mainly in the Gaza Strip. The company’s first flight from Bucharest has already landed in Israel, and additional flights followed from Budapest, London, Vienna and others. Eidhagen said the airline was also closely watching developments in other conflict-affected areas, including Syria and Lebanon, for potential route expansions. “There are improvements we’re hoping for in the region, which would need capacity,” he said. Wizz Air is also eyeing a return to Ukraine, a market it served before the current war with Russia started. “Ukraine is one of our home markets, and we would be hopeful that it stabilises so we can go back,” Eidhagen said. Wizz Air Holdings established its operations in Abu Dhabi in 2019 through a joint venture with the sovereign wealth fund ADQ. Wizz Air Abu Dhabi reported year-on-year growth of more than 20 percent in seat capacity and passenger numbers for 2024. It carried more than 3.5 million passengers on 19,000 flights The ultra-low-cost carrier contributed 25 percent of Zayed International Airport’s point-to-point traffic and brought 1.2 million international visitors to Abu Dhabi. It currently connects Abu Dhabi to more than 30 destinations across the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia, with plans to boost its winter schedule by 40 percent in seat capacity. Eidhagen said Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has expanded its fleet to 12 aircraft in 2024, marking substantial growth for the airline. Abu Dhabi was “one of our fastest-growing bases within the whole network,” he said.