Wizz Air's passenger traffic jumped by over 50% in December

Wizz Air saw passenger numbers climb by more than half last month as the airline sector benefited from a relative lack of Covid-19 restrictions.

The Hungarian low-cost air carrier reported almost 4.2 million people flew on its aircraft in December, compared to 2.6 million over the same time last year.

In the UK, all incomers were required to take a PCR test on the second day after arriving and self-isolate until they obtained a negative result, while other European countries were much harsher.

This slowed the rebound in air travel and piled even greater financial pressure on an industry suffering heavily from the fallout of the pandemic.

Passenger numbers recovered faster as Omicron-related curbs were relaxed, though airlines had to contend with increased cancellations and widespread delays at airports, especially in Great Britain.

Delays and lost flights contributed to Wizz Air losses for the six months ending September triple to €384.3million, as did unfavourable foreign exchange movements caused by a weakening pound.

Yet it has continued to expand the number of destinations, launching new routes from Italy and Vienna to the Saudi Arabian cities of Riyadh and Jeddah in December.

Budapest-based Wizz also added extra aircraft to its bases in the Austrian capital, Warsaw, Belgrade, Tirana and the Georgian city of Kutaisi, and added another two to Rome Fiumicino Airport.

Source” Content adapted from dailymail