Over 3 million passengers booked tickets with Wizz Air in 2022 in Albania compared to a little over 200 000 in pre-pandemic 2019

Tirana is one of the fastest growing bases for Wizz Air, further growth up to 10 aircraft in 2023

Overall, the airline doubles its passenger traffic year-on-year at 45.7 million passengers

Wizz Air, Europe’s fastest growing and most environmentally sustainable airline globally[1],  announces its outstanding operational results for 2022 in Albania, ensuring its leadership in the market. The number of passengers who booked tickets with the airline grew 13-fold compared to 2019. In 2022 Wizz Air welcomed over 3 million passengers[2] in Albania, the most popular routes being from Tirana to the two airports of Milan (Italy) - Malpensa and Bergamo.

The results come alongside the recent data published by Eurocontrol, which marked Albania for demonstrating the fastest growing number of air operations in Europe in 2022. The country managed to score 37% higher than in 2019, whereas on average European flight operations have only reached 83% of its pre-Covid capacity. The research attributed this outstanding performance largely to the Wizz Air’s expansion in the market.

In 2022 Wizz Air allocated two aircraft to its Tirana base and two additional deliveries are scheduled for 2023, increasing the capacity in the market to 4.8 million seats on sale for summer 2023. With this product offer Wizz Air is now the largest carrier in the country. It continues to deliver on its promise of providing affordable travel opportunities and contributing to the development of the tourism sector in Albania and is ready to accelerate and expand operations further in 2023. The recent allocation of the 10th aircraft to Wizz Air’s Tirana base will bring six new routes to Albania’s capital city in 2023. Passengers will now be able to fly from Tirana to Gdansk and Poznan in Poland, as well as Lamezia Terme, Naples, and Trieste in Italy.

The average fleet age is 4.6 years, well below the average age of its major competitors, which is around 10 years, ensuring Wizz Air meets its commitment to sustainability with the lowest environmental footprint. The airline also operates its fleet efficiently, as this has the greatest impact on tackling carbon emissions intensity. At the same time the airline has almost doubled the size of its crew in Albania, having held 34 recruitment events in Tirana, and is planning to additionally employ over 100 crew members by the end of 2023. Apply here and become a member of the Wizz Air crew.

Tamara Nikiforova, Corporate Communications Manager at Wizz Air Group, said: “We are very proud of our achievements in Albania, demonstrating our commitment to the market where we are the largest airline by capacity. Our overwhelming growth allows us to further strengthen our market offer, providing our Albanian customers with affordable travel on a total of 54 routes to 15 countries in 2023. We are eager to welcome even more of our Albanian passengers and new crew members on board, as we continue to expand in the upcoming year”.

About Wizz Air   

Wizz Air, the fastest growing European ultra-low-cost airline, operates a fleet of 177 Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft. A team of dedicated aviation professionals delivers superior service and very low fares, making Wizz Air the preferred choice of 27.1 million passengers in the Financial Year F22 ending 31 March 2022. Wizz Air is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker WIZZ. The company was recently named one of the world's top ten safest airlines by airlineratings.com, the world's only safety and product rating agency, and 2020 Airline of the Year by ATW, 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 has also been recognised as the „Most Sustainable Low-Cost Airline” within the World Finance Sustainability Awards 2022 and the „Global Environmental Sustainability Airline Group of the Year” by the CAPA-Centre for Aviation Awards for Excellence 2022.

Contacts:

Tamara Nikiforova, Wizz Air Group communications@wizzair.com

Enkeleda Londo, Wizz Air Press Office in Albania enkeleda.londo@fcbafirma.al