Wizz Air expands UK operations with plan for Gatwick base

Low-cost carrier Wizz Air is to open a new base at Gatwick airport and called on regulators to let “proper commercial forces prevail” to allow it to pick up more slots from its rivals as airlines lurch through the effects of the pandemic. The Hungarian carrier will launch four new routes from Gatwick by late October as it defies an industry-wide downturn to expand its operations in the UK. Wizz sees the crisis in air travel as an opportunity to grab market share from less nimble competitors with higher costs who are looking to conserve cash until passenger demand recovers. But the strategy comes at a moment of jeopardy for the European aviation industry, which is struggling to chart a path through a new wave of uncertainty thrown up by rising case numbers across many parts of the region. The airline has previously operated a limited schedule of flights to and from Gatwick, but the creation of a base will allow it to operate aircraft and crew from south London permanently for the first time as it shifts resources that otherwise would have been grounded by the drop-off in air travel.  While Wizz’s current expansion plans at Gatwick are modest Owain Jones, UK managing director at Wizz Air, said the creation of a permanent base would be a bulwark to allow it to increase its capacity at the airport if slots became available.<br/>