Ian Malin (right) announcing the planned expansion in Italy.
RIMINI, Italy—Wizz Air is further expanding in Italy, adding three Airbus A321neo aircraft across bases in Milan Malpensa, Naples and Catania as the ULCC doubles down on what it now views as one of its core markets in Europe.
Speaking at Routes Europe 2026 in Rimini, Italy, Wizz Air Chief Commercial Officer Ian Malin announced that the airline will base an 11th aircraft at Milan Malpensa starting Sept. 14, a third aircraft at Naples Capodichino from Dec. 14 and a fourth aircraft at Catania Fontanarossa starting Dec. 14, supporting the launch of 11 new domestic and international routes.
Malin described Italy as increasingly central to the carrier’s revised network strategy as it reallocates growth back into Europe following its retrenchment from Abu Dhabi and a broader operational reset focused on reliability and shorter-haul flying. “Italy is in many respects an extension of our core territory, which is our central Eastern European strategy,” Malin told delegates.
He said Wizz Air is increasing its Italy-focused fleet from 29 aircraft in 2025 to 41 aircraft across seven Italian bases in summer 2026, including Milan, Naples, Palermo, Rome, Turin and Venice.
At Milan Malpensa, Wizz Air will launch four new routes—to Santander, Zaragoza, Porto and Agadir-Al Massira—from mid-September. The additional aircraft will increase the airline’s Malpensa network to 50 routes across 23 countries.
In Naples, the carrier will open routes to Barcelona, Madrid and Bilbao starting Dec. 14 while increasing Naples-Venice frequencies from 11 to 14X-weekly flights. Wizz Air said the additional aircraft will add more than 500,000 seats annually and expand the Naples network to 23 routes in 13 countries.
The Naples announcement also included plans to expand at Salerno Costa d’Amalfi Airport, where Wizz Air plans to launch three routes in 2027 and build to six routes by 2030.
At Catania, the ULCC will add routes to Rome Fiumicino, Valencia, Alicante and Porto, including a 3X-daily domestic service to Rome beginning Dec. 14. Porto service will begin Oct. 27.
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The expansion is part of a wider European growth push. Malin said Wizz Air expects capacity growth of nearly 30% this fiscal year despite ongoing Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan (GTF) engine groundings, supply chain constraints and high fuel prices.
“We haven’t removed capacity,” Malin said when asked about how the Middle East crisis is affecting operations. “We’re growing this year across the whole network.”
The airline currently operates 264 aircraft, around 75% of which are Airbus neo-family aircraft. Malin said the number of parked aircraft due to engine inspections has declined from about 60 at the peak of the GTF crisis to around 30 currently.
He also said Wizz Air has become more disciplined in network planning after operational disruptions, rising fuel costs and geopolitical instability forced the airline to rethink its strategy.
“We were spending a lot of money on EU261 compensation, we were spending a lot of money on out-based maintenance, on repositioning, on ferry flights and all sorts of things that are very inefficient,” Malin said. “Efficiency is really the name of the game when it comes to the new ULCC business.”
That strategic shift has led Wizz Air to focus increasingly on shorter sectors within Europe, including domestic Italian flying, rather than pursuing longer-haul opportunities with the Airbus A321XLR.
Wizz Air carried more than 21 million passengers in Italy in 2025, up 8% year-on-year, and plans to offer more than 32 million seats in the country in 2026.
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