In a significant strategic shift, the Hungarian budget carrier Wizz Air has announced it will drastically cut the number of flights operating from London Gatwick Airport. The move is a direct attempt to reduce operating costs and improve its financial performance by reallocating resources to its base at London Luton Airport.
The Luton Profitability Push
Wizz Air's CEO, József Váradi, was forthright about the reasons behind the change. He explained that Gatwick is an expensive airport for the airline to operate from and lamented that the company had been stuck with an "inferior set of slots" there. He stated, "We think that we can enhance financial performance by operating that capacity from Luton." The airline believes it can achieve "the most profitability" by concentrating more of its operations at the Bedfordshire hub.
The plan will begin with the permanent relocation of one aircraft from Gatwick to Luton. This strategic redeployment will adjust the airline's UK fleet distribution, leaving just seven aircraft at Gatwick while boosting the Luton-based fleet to 13 aircraft.
What This Means for Passenger Routes
This operational shift has direct implications for the routes available from each airport. Currently, Wizz Air operates several popular direct services from Gatwick to European city-break destinations like Budapest, Prague, and Rome, as well as sunny holiday hotspots such as Malaga, Faro, and Antalya.
From its strengthened base at Luton, the airline offers connections to key Spanish destinations including Barcelona, Madrid, and Mallorca, alongside Turkish cities like Dalaman and Istanbul. Mr Váradi emphasised the need for network flexibility, adding, "You have to churn your network for profit. We are simply more efficient financially in Luton."
Intensifying Competition at Gatwick
Wizz Air's partial exit from Gatwick comes as the West Sussex airport prepares for its own expansion and faces a new wave of competition. In September, transport secretary Heidi Alexander approved Gatwick's £2.2 billion second runway plan. This project, which involves moving the emergency runway 12 metres north, is expected to allow for around 100,000 more flights per year from approximately 2029.
Furthermore, the competitive landscape is heating up. The airline Jet2 is scheduled to begin scheduled flying from London Gatwick in March 2026. The company has secured slots for six aircraft and plans to serve destinations across Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece with its Airbus A321neo planes.
Gatwick remains the main base for Britain's biggest budget airline, easyJet, which stations about 70 aircraft there. Commenting on the challenging environment for new entrants, the Wizz Air boss suggested that Gatwick slots are "stuck" and that newcomer Jet2 will be "very sub-scale versus the established players."
