Exclusive: Wizz Air expands service as Britons continue flying to Spain
Wizz Air is launching a new base in Doncaster Sheffield Airport and seven additional destinations, including Spain and Portugal, as demand has proved ‘extremely strong’ despite the pandemic.
Speaking exclusively to Telegraph Travel, Owain Jones, managing director of Wizz Air UK said that since being the first carrier in Europe to relaunch flights post-lockdown, its routes to Spain and Portugal have proved “a runaway success”.
After the Foreign Office (FCO) dropped Spain from its ‘green list’ of quarantine-exempt countries, demand did go down, Jones says, but it still continues to maintain fairly steady numbers for trips to the country. Wizz Air plans to fly at 80 per cent capacity by the end of the year; a higher number than any other European airline has announced.
The Hungarian-owned airline has switched its focus chiefly to the Greek islands as Britons flock there due to low numbers of local infections. Its first direct service to Santorini took off this week and the flight was close to full. Bookings to Greece have been “extremely strong,” Jones confirms.
Not that trips to the country have been without problems. As we’ve reported, Greece’s requirement that passengers submit a PLF (passenger landing form) and obtain a QR code at least 24 hours before travel hasn’t been reaching all customers, leading to some being turned away from boarding.
“One of the challenges has been the completely unjoined up approach we’re seeing to policy across Europe,” Jones states, adding that Wizz Air customers are warned about Greece’s requirement five and three days before travel.
With the creation of a new base at Doncaster Sheffield Airport, Wizz Air will launch new connections for October half term to destinations including the Spanish cities of Alicante and Malaga, Larnaca in Cyprus, Faro in Portugal, Lublin in Poland, Kosice in Slovakia and Suceava in Romania – with one-way fares starting at £17.99.
The airline will allocate one Airbus A320 aircraft to the Yorkshire airport, and increase the annual capacity by 150,000 seats to more than one million.
“The creation of our second base in the UK is a major milestone for Wizz Air UK, and testament to both our long term commitment to serving the UK market and the strength of the Wizz Air business model, as we continue to expand our footprint during this challenging time for the industry,” Jones said today.
Robert Hough, Chairman of Doncaster Sheffield Airport states: “With strong performance there is now a real possibility for the base to grow from one aircraft initially to a multi aircraft base further broadening the range of routes available.
“There is no doubt that the aviation sector faces its greatest challenge in modern day history at this time. It is essential that the UK Government acknowledges and supports airlines and airports that bring much needed investment into the UK economy. Doncaster Sheffield Airport contributes over £60 million to the Sheffield city region and offers job security for thousands of people.”
