Less than a day after it confirmed plans were moving ahead for a new base in Cardiff, Wizz Air has now confirmed the project will be pushed back to next summer.

The low-cost carrier had previously welcomed news from the Welsh government that fully vaccinated travellers returning from amber list countries will not have to quarantine from Monday.

No reason was given for the latest reversal.

Flights had been expected to take off on July 30th.

A statement said: “As a result of the ongoing Covid-19 related travel restrictions, and ever-changing quarantine measures in place across the UK and Europe, it is with regret that we have had to take the difficult but responsible decision to further postpone the opening of our new Cardiff base until summer 2022 to give our customers, employees and business partners certainty during this difficult time.

“This has not been an easy decision and we understand the disappointment our customers in south Wales will be feeling.”

The base has been expected to operate routes to Alicante, Corfu, Faro, Heraklion, Palma de Mallorca, Larnaca and Tenerife.

Flights to Lanzarote has been planned to start in October and Sharm el-Sheikh in November.

The statement added: “We apologise for the inconvenience this further delay might have caused to our customers.

“We remain dedicated and look forward to opening our fourth UK base at Cardiff Airport and to welcoming passengers onboard our young and green aircraft fleet next summer.”