Wizz Air to Close Cardiff, Bacău Airport Bases

DALLAS — Wizz Air UK (W9) has announced that all operations at Cardiff Airport (CWL) will cease on January 25, 2023. Wizz Air Hungary (W6) will also close its base at Bacău Airport (BCM), aka George Enescu International Airport, on January 10, 2023.

Following a reduction in flight schedules announced last September at the only airport offering commercial passenger services in Wales, W9's two remaining winter routes to Milan and Bucharest will cease operations near the end of the month. Moving to Romania, the BCM base closure will allow W6 to relocate capacity to other routes with higher demand.

Wizz Air UK has one Airbus A321neo based at the Welsh airport and has based two additional aircraft at UK airports in the last year, launching new routes to international destinations such as Agadir, Amman, Dubrovnik, Faro, Lyon, Marrakesh, Nice, Prague, Sharm El Sheikh, Tallinn, and Verona. All Cardiff-based employees will be offered redeployment opportunities at the low-cost carrier's other UK bases, according to the airline.

Unlike CWL, W6 will continue to fly from BCM to a number of destinations, including London Luton Airport (LTN) and Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP). Employees from the BCM base who are affected will be offered positions in other parts of the W6 network.

Wizz Air UK, the UK-registered subsidiary of W6, announced the new base at CWL in December 2020. A few months earlier, W9's first flight from BCM took off two months earlier, with the airline expanding its operations since then, carrying nearly 500,000 passengers on its low-cost routes to and from BCM.

Comments from Wizz Air Officials

Marion Geoffroy, managing director of Wizz Air UK, said, “The challenging macro-economic environment and high operational costs, including fuel, mean that unfortunately, we are unable to continue operating from Cardiff Airport. We sincerely apologise to our customers in Wales and the South West of England for the disruption and inconvenience that this will cause.”

Tischner Roland, Officer Wizz Air Hungary General Operations, said, “The complicated macroeconomic environment has made it impossible to continue our operations in Bacau. We apologize to our Romanian customers for any inconvenience this decision will cause."

Roland added, "Our priority at this time is to ensure that all affected customers are contacted directly, receiving clear advice on their options, and look after our colleagues and crew in Bacau. Wizz Air continues to offer reduced fares from other airports in Romania, including Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Craiova, Suceava, Iasi, and Sibiu.”

Featured image: Wizz Air UK G-WUKH Airbus A321-231(WL). Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways