The new Abu Dhabi-based venture will begin flights to Athens on January 15. Flights to Greece’s second city, Thessaloniki, will follow from February 4.

The joint venture also plans to operate to Alexandria, Kutaisi, Larnaca, Odessa and Yerevan when local Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi state holding company ADQ and Hungary-based Wizz.

Wizz Air managing director Kees Van Schaick, managing director told FlightGlobal that it is “the pioneer of a new model of air travel for the UAE capital and highlights plans for expansion from its Middle Eastern base. We have the aircraft, we have the crew, we have the partners, and we are ready to fly. We look forward to building a new travel segment in this important market.”

Wizz Air which have made no secret of their ambition to expand aggressively on short-haul routes across Europe as passengers begin to return to the air.

Wizz chief executive Jozsef Varadi has said that the Middle Eastern unit could one day operate as many as 100 aircraft from its location between Europe and Asia.

“You stand in Abu Dhabi… and within a radius of seven hours you have 5 billion people,” Varadi said in July. “That gives you immense opportunities to exploit in the future.”

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi’s fleet will be made up of new Airbus A321neo aircraft.

Prior to the pandemic, it had vowed to offer cheap flights to destinations “across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa” focusing on markets where Wizz already has established operations.

Ryanair and Wizz have been obliged to strip voting rights from UK shareholders to comply with post-Brexit EU ownership rules, which do not allow non-EU citizens or entities to intervene in management of EU-based airlines.

Source: Cyprus Mail