Budget carrier Wizz Air UK is to withdraw from its base at the UK’s Cardiff airport before the end of January, closing the only remaining routes to Milan and Bucharest.
The airline had already reduced its schedule from the Welsh capital and says its operations will “cease permanently” from 25 January.
It will leave the airline – which also stopped operating from Doncaster Sheffield last year – with services from eight UK airports.
“The challenging macro-economic environment and high operational costs, including fuel, mean that unfortunately we are unable to continue operating from Cardiff airport,” says Wizz Air UK managing director Marion Geoffroy.
“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.”
Geoffroy says all Cardiff-based personnel will be offered opportunities to redeploy to other Wizz bases in the UK.
But the carrier insists it “remains committed” to long-term UK growth.
Wizz Air UK’s most recent full-year accounts, released in December, show that it effectively broke even, with a pre-tax profit of £283,000 on a turnover of £134.1 million for the 12 months to 31 March 2022. Its expenditure of £133.8 million included fuel costs of £53 million.
