Wizz Air UK, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wizz Air Holdings, has been granted an air operator’s certificate and operating licence by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority.

The UK subsidiary, headquartered at London Luton airport, begins operations today, with the first flight between London Luton and Bucharest.

The new organisation will have eight brand new Airbus A320 and Airbus A321 aircraft in service by the end of 2018, representing an investment of US$860 million and creating 300 new direct jobs with Wizz Air UK for management, pilots and cabin crew.

Wizz Air is one of Europe’s fastest growing airline groups.

With the addition of Wizz Air UK, the group will have almost nine million seats on sale on its low fare routes to and from the UK in 2018, some 14 per cent growth year-on-year.

Wizz Air is now the eight largest airline group operating in the UK, with flights to 74 destinations in 23 countries from nine UK airports, including eight new routes for 2018 from London Luton to Larnaca, Tirana, Tallinn, Bratislava, Lviv, Athens, Keflavik and Bari.

Wizz Air continues to grow its presence in the UK

József Váradi, chief executive at Wizz Air, said: “Today marks the start of a new era in air travel in the United Kingdom, as we celebrate Wizz Air UK’s first flight following the approval of its UK operating licence.

“While Wizz Air UK is a key part of our Brexit contingency plan, it is also the first genuine ultra-low-cost carrier licensed in the UK and the natural next-step in the development of our UK business, putting us in a strong position to take advantage of opportunities that may arise in what remains Europe’s largest travel market. 

“Wizz Air has been committed to the UK ever since our very first flight landed at London Luton in 2004 and our continued expansion will mean additional investment and jobs in the UK as we build our current position as the eighth largest airline operating in the UK.

“Everyone in the WIZZ team is delighted to see operations begin under the Wizz Air UK flag, as we bring ever more low fare opportunities to our UK customers to explore our network of exciting destinations.”

Wizz Air is the largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, operates a fleet of 96 Airbus A320 and Airbus A321 aircraft, and offers more than 600 routes from 28 bases, connecting 141 destinations across 44 countries.