Wizz Air ends service to Coventry Airport

The Hungarian-Polish discount carrier Wizz Air has decided to end its operations at Coventry Airport within a matter of weeks. Wizz Air, which has now become Central Europe’s largest discount carrier, has decided to close the Coventry to Katowice route in September 2008. The Hungarian-Polish airline operated three flights per week on this short-haul route until now, but it reportedly did not meet initial expectations in terms of profitability.

Wizz Air once maintained quite a prominent presence at the Coventry Airport, as it also offered flights to Gdansk, Poland. These, however, were cancelled this past May. The suspension of these two routes also come at a time when all carriers in Europe are struggling with high fuel expenses, stagnating passenger demand and lingering fears of a recession. Most major carriers have also decided to ground planes and cut unprofitable routes.

Wizz Air had some high expectations for the Coventry to Katowice route. Since Poland’s 2004 entry into the European Union, up to one million Poles have relocated to the United Kingdom in order to find better paying jobs. Wizz Air executives believed that the local Polish community would ensure the profitability of both the Gdansk and Katowice routes. According to media reports, however, this did not occur and passenger figures remained modest.

Thank you to the Coventry Telegraph for the initial report.

www.wizzair.com