Wizz Air has celebrated the launch of its new base at Gatwick Airport, and four new routes to Athens, Lanzarote, Malta and Naples.

One of the three UK bases for the airline alongside London Luton and Doncaster Sheffield, the inaugural flights to Athens and Naples took off from the airport today (22 October 2020).

Wizz Air UK managing director, Owain Jones, said: “Today marks an important milestone for Wizz Air in the UK, as we paint south London’s skies pink with our Gatwick based aircraft’s inaugural flight. This opening is further evidence of our commitment to the UK market, as we create local jobs and deliver on our promise of providing affordable, direct flights to exciting destinations.

“Now more passengers in the south can take advantage of our low fare connections and excellent onboard service, reassured by WIZZ’s industry leading enhanced health and hygiene measures. We’re making sure nothing stands in the way of passengers taking a last-minute trip away before the end of the year. We look forward to welcoming passengers on board our new, green and ultra-efficient aircraft fleet.”

Wizz Air has allocated one Airbus A321 aircraft to the airport.

The four new holiday routes commencing this week mean Wizz Air now has 490,000 tickets on sale on nine routes from the South London hub, representing a 139 year-on-year capacity increase for the airline’s Gatwick operations.

Wizz Air already flies between Gatwick Airport and the cities of Sofia, Budapest, Gdansk, Krakow and Bucharest. 

Gatwick Airport’s chief executive officer, Stewart Wingate, added: “The launch of Wizz Air’s new routes and base at Gatwick is very exciting for the airline’s future at the airport. We know that hundreds of thousands of passengers have already made the most of Wizz’s great prices over the last several years and the four new routes offer passengers across London and the South East even greater choice when planning holidays in the future.”