Wizz Air plans to establish its first operational bases in Spain this winter and launch domestic services as it deepens its push into the country’s market.
The Hungarian ULCC will base aircraft at Valencia from Nov. 2 and Madrid from Nov. 3, initially stationing four Airbus A321-family aircraft across the two airports. The move will support 17 new routes for the winter 2026-27 season, including what will be the carrier’s first domestic services in Spain.
The new domestic routes include Madrid-Palma de Mallorca, Madrid-Asturias, Madrid-Santiago de Compostela, Valencia-Asturias, Valencia-Palma, Valencia-Santander, Valencia-Santiago de Compostela, Bilbao-Malaga, Bilbao-Santiago de Compostela and Bilbao-Valencia.
International additions include Almeria-Bucharest, Asturias-London Luton, Granada-Luton, Luton-Malaga, Madrid-Pisa, Valencia-Naples and Brasov-Bilbao.
The expansion will put Wizz into direct competition on several domestic trunk routes. OAG Schedules Analyser data shows Madrid-Palma already has more than 1.56 million two-way seats in summer 2026, served by Iberia, Air Europa and Ryanair. Valencia-Palma has more than 508,000 seats, operated by Ryanair, Air Europa, Vueling and Iberia. Bilbao-Malaga, Bilbao-Valencia and Asturias-Valencia are also already served.
“Today marks a defining moment for Wizz Air in Spain,” CEO József Váradi says. “Opening our first operational bases in Madrid and Valencia demonstrates our long-term commitment to one of Europe’s most important aviation markets and reflects our confidence in its future.”
The move follows a period of rapid growth for Wizz Air in Spain. Combining the operations of Wizz Air, Wizz Air Malta and Wizz Air UK, OAG data shows the carrier’s Spanish market capacity rising to 4.79 million departure seats in summer 2026 from 3.16 million in summer 2025, an increase of about 52% year over year. Its share of total Spain capacity has risen to 3.8% from 2.7% over the same period.
Barcelona-El Prat Airport remains Wizz’s largest Spanish airport in summer 2026, with about 1.39 million departure seats, followed by Madrid-Barajas Airport with 746,000, Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport with 590,000, Valencia Airport with 524,000 and Alicante Airport with 481,000. The new bases therefore deepen an existing presence and give the carrier a stronger operational platform in two of Spain’s largest markets.
“This investment enables us to bring more destinations, create new local jobs and provide even better connectivity for millions of travelers,” Váradi says. “We are proud to become an even stronger part of Spain’s aviation landscape, and this is only the beginning of our ambitions here.”
Spain is already one of Europe’s most competitive low-cost markets. Ryanair remains the largest carrier with 25.3 million departure seats in summer 2026 and a 20.4% share of the country’s capacity. Vueling follows with 19 million seats, ahead of Iberia, EasyJet and Air Europa.
The Spanish expansion also comes as Wizz seeks to refocus after a turbulent year marked by aircraft groundings, the exit from its Abu Dhabi joint venture and network adjustments linked to Middle East disruption. The airline said in June it would retain all 11 Airbus A321XLRs already in its fleet or on order for its own network, while redeploying capacity toward core European markets including Spain, Italy, Croatia and Albania.
At Routes Europe 2026 in May, Chief Commercial Officer Ian Malin confirmed that the airline plans to add three A321neo aircraft across bases in Milan Malpensa, Naples and Catania, supporting the launch of 11 new domestic and international routes.
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