• UAE’s national airline and the second-largest carrier in Abu Dhabi, launched eight exciting destinations and further expanded convenient and affordable travel for all in 2023

Abu Dhabi, UAE: Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, the ultra-low-fare national airline of the UAE, today announced its outstanding operational results for 2023. The joint venture established between ADQ and Wizz Air Holdings PLC, enjoyed a record-breaking year, more than doubling both the number of operated flights and passengers carried, with a completion rate of 99.6%. The national airline operated more than 15,000 flights, carrying three million passengers, with more than 1.5 million point-to-point passengers to Abu Dhabi in 2023. Wizz Air Abu Dhabi continues to play a key role in supporting innovation, resilience and integration of Abu Dhabi’s culture and tourism sectors to share the Emirate with the world and enrich lives. 

The airline supports the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism’s target to reach 24 million visitors for 2023, and promote the Emirate as a year-round tourism destination that offers exciting, inspiring and restorative experiences that visitors can discover at their own pace.[1] Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is also supporting the development of the UAE’s tourism sector, in line with the UAE Tourism Strategy 2031, and further strengthening the position of the UAE as one of the best destinations in the world for tourism.[2]

Wizz Air is constantly developing the UAE network and currently flies to a total of 40 destinations in 27 different countries from Abu Dhabi, sharing the love of travel to culturally rich destinations, including vibrant cities and hidden-gem resorts. The airline has proudly introduced a new segment of travel in the UAE in line with the country’s socio-economic vision with recent exciting expansions into Central Asia, North Africa, the Middle East and Europe allowing for convenient, self-connecting travel across the wider Wizz Air network via the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The airline solidified its position as the second largest carrier in Abu Dhabi, and continues to deliver on its promise of making travel possible for everyone. Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is ready to accelerate and expand operations further in 2024.

In 2023, the ultra-low fare national airline added four new A321 aircraft, taking the total fleet to 12 aircraft, and increased its seat capacity by 135% to 3.7 million seats on sale. The airline has grown in headcount by 100% in 2023, supporting local jobs, invested in the latest technologically advanced aircraft and worked collaboratively with partners, regulators, and stakeholders to lead the charge towards more sustainable air travel.

The airline is committed to sustainability and recently signed an agreement with the UAE Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure to promote sustainability and collaborate on a wide range of areas, raising awareness about more environmentally friendly practices amongst passengers. This includes online educational campaigns on both organisation’s social media platforms, websites, forums and key stakeholder events and the endorsement of the ‘Switch off Take off’ initiative, a National Conservation programme.

Johan Eidhagen, Managing Director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi said: “We are very proud of all our achievements in this record-breaking year and we are delighted to continue building upon on our incredible year-on-year growth. In 2023, we operated more than 15,000 flights, unlocked 3.7 million affordable travel opportunities and carried three million point-to-point passengers. We would like to thank our passengers that travelled with us and we reaffirm our commitment to connecting people to create great memories next year and beyond, at the lowest fares possible. Our phenomenal results this year reflect our commitment to delivering travel options that are more convenient and affordable for everyone and accelerating the growth of Abu Dhabi as one of the best destinations in the world for tourism. We are excited for 2024 and we look forward to seeing you on board our aircraft soon.”

Passengers can book tickets with confidence, thanks to WIZZ Flex. With WIZZ Flex, passengers can change their flight up to three hours before departure without any fee and receive 100% of the fare immediately reimbursed in airline credit.

Strategically located in the UAE, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi provides ultra-low-fares and efficient travel options to Alexandria (Egypt), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Amman (Jordan), Ankara (Turkey), Aqaba (Jordan), Athens (Greece), Baku (Azerbaijan), Belgrade (Serbia), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Cairo (Egypt) and Dammam (Saudi Arabia). As well as routes to Kuwait City (Kuwait), Kutaisi (Georgia), Larnaca (Cyprus), Male (Maldives), Madinah (Saudi Arabia), Muscat (Oman), Nur Sultan (Kazakhstan), Salalah (Oman), Santorini (Greece), Samarkand (Uzbekistan), Sarajevo (Bosnia), Sohag (Egypt), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Turkistan (Kazakhstan), Tirana (Albania) and Yerevan (Armenia) among others.

About Wizz Air Abu Dhabi:

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is a joint venture by ADQ, one of the region’s largest holding companies with a broad portfolio of major enterprises spanning key sectors of Abu Dhabi’s diversified economy, and Wizz Air Holdings Plc, the fastest growing European ultra-low-cost airline, operating a fleet of 194 Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft. Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is the national carrier of the UAE. A team of dedicated aviation professionals delivers superior service and very low fares, making Wizz Air the preferred choice of 57.6million passengers between October 2022 and September 2023. Wizz Air is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker WIZZ. The airline was recently named one of the world's ten safest airlines by airlineratings.com, the world's only safety and product rating agency, and named Airline of the Year by Air Transport Awards in 2019 and 2023, the most coveted honour an airline or individual can receive, recognising individuals and organisations that have distinguished themselves through outstanding performance, innovation, and superior service. Wizz Air was also recognised as 'Most Sustainable Low-Cost Airline' in the World Finance Sustainability Awards in 2021-2023, as 'Airline Group of the Year for Global Environmental Sustainability' by CAPA-Centre for Aviation Awards for Excellence in 2022-2023 and “Europe’s Leading Low-Cost Airline 2023” by World Travel Awards.

For more information:
Micheal Nashed, Wizz Air Group; Micheal.nashed@wizzair.com
Follow us on Instagram: @wizzair
Follow us on Facebook: @wizzair
Follow us on Twitter: @wizzair

Press Office: E-mail: wizzair@fourcommunications.com

[1] Source – Abu Dhabi Government Media Office
[2] Source – UAE Government