Blow to Cardiff Airport as airline pulls out:
A popular airline is to stop all flights from Cardiff Airport this month after the low-cost carrier announced the permanent closure of its Welsh base.
The decision by Wizz Air comes less than a year after opening in April 2022. The Hungarian airline confirmed on Tuesday that the closure is planned for 25th January when flights to Milan and Bucharest will officially stop.
Wizz Air had originally planned for eight services to run from the airport this summer, with destinations including Greece, Portugal and Spain. These will now no longer go ahead.
Wizz Air UK’s managing Director Marion Geoffroy said: “The challenging macro-economic environment and high operational costs including fuel mean that unfortunately, we are unable to continue operating from Cardiff airport.
“We sincerely apologise to our customers in Wales and the southwest of England for the disruption and inconvenience that this will cause.
“Our priority now is to ensure that all affected customers are contacted directly with clear advice on their options and to look after our Cardiff-based colleagues and crew.”
A spokesperson for Cardiff Airport commented: “We are deeply disappointed to hear that Wizz Air has decided to cease their operations at Cardiff Airport. It is regrettable that Wizz Air has cited the economic climate as its reasons for withdrawing its operations out of Cardiff.
“There has been positive booking trends and very strong passenger demand to travel from Cardiff in 2022 and current booking trends for 2023 remains similar.
“Our thoughts are with our customers who are impacted by this news and now face disruption to their travel plans for this year, along with our friends and colleagues that are employed by Wizz Air based at Cardiff.”
The Welsh Conservative Leader Andrew RT Davies has said it is “another blow” to the taxpayer owned airport.
Mr Davies said, “The loss of Wizz Air flights and their routes to Milan and Bucharest is yet another blow to the taxpayer-owned Cardiff Airport.
“Labour ministers have spent £112million on Cardiff Airport since they bought it. This money could have gone towards sorting out the A&E crisis in the Welsh NHS.”
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