Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air has announced the closure of its base in Abu Dhabi, marking a significant strategic shift. The base opened in 2020 in partnership with local company Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company capitalised on the market of workers present in the Emirates as well as visitors with more limited incomes.
This July, the company is offering flights to 29 destinations from Abu Dhabi. Essentially in Central Asia, the Near and Middle East and the Balkans.
But these markets have hardly responded to the offensive by Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, which has only recorded losses. In addition, the company says it underestimated a series of factors that are not conducive to profitability: geopolitical tensions, with the regular closure of air routes and airspace (the most recent of which took place at the beginning of June); extreme weather has also accelerated wear and tear on the aircraft's engines, resulting in high maintenance costs. Flights from Abu Dhabi's Zayed airport will cease on 30 September..
CEO József Váradi has confirmed a desire to reinvest in the historic markets of Central and Eastern Europe, where Wizz Air has managed to establish itself despite fierce competition from Ryanair.
The company, which has an order for 280 Airbus A320neo aircraft over the next five years, will be allocating them mainly to Central and Eastern Europe. This region generates more than two-thirds of Wizz Air's business.
Romania on the front line
One of the low-cost airline's first decisions will be to strengthen at Bucharest. From 26 October 2025, Wizz Air will base a second aircraft at Baneasa, Bucharest's low-cost airport. Nine routes will thus be transferred from Bucharest-Otopeni International Airport to Baneasa (including five exclusively from the latter). Wizz Air will thus transfer routes from Athens, Basel-Mulhouse, Frankfurt-Hahn, Memmingen and Nice to Baneasa. It will operate flights to Barcelona, Bergamo, Brussels South-Charleroi and Turin at the two Bucharest airports. Finally, at Otopeni, the airline will inaugurate new routes to Bratislava, Brindisi, Cologne, Gdansk, Pescara and Porto at the end of October.
Romania generally occupies a central place in Wizz Air's expansion strategy. This winter, the airline will also be inaugurating routes to Timisoaraincluding four flights a week from Basel-Mulhouse as well as to Suceava since Brussels South. The carrier is also inaugurating a base in Yerevan in Armenia in October. With in particular 3 flights a week to Nice.
