A new low-cost airline, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, will begin flying from the UAE capital in the autumn. The carrier said it planned to bring “low fares paired with a high-quality onboard experience to a range of destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa”.

“The airline will focus on establishing routes to markets in which Wizz Air has existing, high growth operations, namely Central and Eastern and Western Europe,” it said. “There is also wider market opportunity to Asia and Africa, but linking Wizz’s existing locations to Abu Dhabi is the focus for now.”
 
Wizz Air could consider flights to the UK using its hub at Luton once it grows its fleet of Airbus A321 aircraft, but a spokeswoman for the carrier said “no specific routes have been announced”.

Wizz Air is launching the Middle East venture with the Abu Dhabi state, which runs Etihad. Abu Dhabi will have a 51% controlling stake in Wizz Air Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, Etihad and Air Arabia are setting up Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, which is due to launch this summer. 

Wizz Air chief executive Jozsef Varadi said: “Wizz Air’s mission feeds into Abu Dhabi’s diversified economic strategy as we aim to stimulate traffic by creating demand to the benefit of growing Abu Dhabi’s touristic and economic diversity.”