Wizz Air Abu Dhabi

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi will not launch Airbus A321XLR operations until 2026, when crucial upgrades should have been made to the aircraft's Pratt & Whitney GTF engine.

The latest airline route news, featuring network changes, schedule alterations, codeshares and interline agreements.

The carrier has also begun to exchange several A321neos from its UAE joint venture Wizz Air Abu Dhabi with A321ceos.

Gulf-area majors and LCCs are expanding their CIS networks.

New routes are being launched from Hungary, Romania, the United Arab Emirates and the UK, including the airline’s first flights to Istanbul Airport.

The ULCC launched flights from Europe to the Saudi airport in September.

When it enters service, the A321XLR will be the longest-range single-aisle aircraft ever produced, with a range of 4,700 nm.

Armenian startup Fly Arna is launching a new route to Moscow, but Wizz Air Abu Dhabi will not return to the Russian capital as previously planned.

Flights to Moscow will resume in October, making the airline the fifth to offer flights between the United Arab Emirates and Russia.

Wizz Air’s Abu Dhabi-based carrier is adding two more destinations to its network, while the Hungarian group’s application for US approval for transatlantic cargo operations has been rejected.

The LCC will open service to Dammam during the northern hemisphere autumn.

The airline said strong economic ties between the UAE and Israel will drive demand.

The agreement forms part of Saudi Arabia’s vision to grow its aviation industry to more than 330 million passengers by 2030.

Mattala will become the ULCC’s first destination in South Asia.

Routes details the latest new route announcements, as well as the services returning to carriers’ networks.

Krasnodar will become the second Russian destination in the ULCC’s expanding network.

Flights between Abu Dhabi and Moscow Vnukovo will start in December.

József Váradi wants to grow the ULCC fourfold over the next decade.

Eight routes are being launched from December as Jordan seeks to increase its level of LCC penetration.

From Sept. 5 vaccinated passengers arriving in the emirate will be able to avoid having to quarantine for 10 days, as had been widely required.

The changes affect routes operated by Wizz Air’s Hungarian AOC.

A third aircraft will be based in Lithuania’s capital, while Wizz’s Abu Dhabi-based offshoot is starting flights to Bahrain.

VPs and Heads of Network Planning will utilise the event to focus on route development and plan for the next summer season.

Routes rounds up the latest new route announcements, as well as services returning to carrier’s networks.

Wizz Air is stepping up competition with Ryanair at Bari in southern Italy, while the Hungarian carrier’s Abu Dhabi offshoot is also growing.