LONDON: Low-cost carrier Wizz Air said on Monday it was quitting its Abu Dhabi operation after six years to focus on its main European market, citing geopolitical instability and limited market access.
Wizz, which originally focused on central and eastern Europe but expanded into Britain, Italy and Austria, said in future it would concentrate on its much more profitable European business.
Wizz said the geopolitical instability had led to repeated airspace closures around Abu Dhabi, hitting demand, while the impact of the hot environment in the Middle East had hurt engine efficiency, making it hard to operate its low-cost model.
Failure to secure the flying rights for certain routes had also meant it was unable to grow in the region as it had hoped, the airline said.
“They just couldn’t make money out of the Middle East,” Davy analyst Stephen Furlong said.
Wizz said it will stop local flights from Sept. 1, 2025 and would be contacting customers regarding refunds.
“Supply chain constraints, geopolitical instability, and limited market access have made it increasingly difficult to sustain our original ambitions,” Wizz Air CEO Jozsef Varadi said in a statement.
“While this was a difficult decision, it is the right one given the circumstances,” he added.
Wizz Air is in talks with Airbus about scaling back its order for 47 A321XLR, a longer range aircraft, and converting some of them to regular A321 jet.
“We have 47 XLRs on order. We are going to scale that back,” Varadi said.
“We have conversion rights for the majority of that of that aircraft order. So we are talking to the manufacturer.”
