Wizz Air targets UK push with Gatwick slots coming free

Wizz Air Holdings is plotting a major expansion at London Gatwick airport as rival carriers pull back, paving the way for the Hungarian low-cost carrier to emerge from the travel downturn with a bigger presence in the world’s busiest city for passenger traffic. Wizz, Europe’s third-biggest discounter, is keen to expand its UK business beyond a base at Luton, north of London, if it can get hold of the operating slots, Chief Executive Officer Jozsef Varadi said Wednesday in a phone interview. He said he’d like to turn Gatwick, located south of the capital city, into its second British hub. Wizz, which has signaled it will press its growth plans during the current slump, has risen quickly in Eastern Europe but lags far behind Ryanair and EasyJet in the UK and much of western Europe. “We’ve been looking at Gatwick for a long time and we absolutely have an ambition to build a base there,” Varadi said.<br/>