In September, Wizz Air will discontinue serving nine winter sun destinations from Cardiff

From mid-September until the spring of next year, Wizz Air will stop operating flights from Cardiff to nine well-known winter sun destinations, including Corfu and Tenerife.

The airline has announced that the suspensions will begin on September 19 and that the routes are not financially sustainable.

Alicante, Corfu, Heraklion, Faro, Larnaca, Lanzarote, Palma de Mallorca, Sharm el-Sheikh, and Tenerife are no longer destinations offered by the airline.

Its executives said that the choice was taken to limit any inconvenience to passengers, who would be notified via email if they are impacted.

Tickets holders will be given the choice of rebooking to travel this year as scheduled, but from London Gatwick or Luton Airport, or booking equivalent fares to travel from Cardiff next summer.

Additionally, customers will have the option of receiving a full cash refund or an airline credit worth 100% of their ticket price.

Wizz Air announced that throughout the winter, there would still be flights to the Italian city of Milan and the Romanian capital Bucharest. Beginning in October, tickets are available for those locations.

All other connections, however, will be cancelled up until April 2023, when the airline stated it would start expanding service out of Cardiff.

The only international airport in Wales will give its employees alternatives to work at other airports in the UK throughout the winter so they can return in the spring.

“We are extremely unhappy to have to halt many flights from Cardiff Airport for the winter season,” said Marion Geoffrey, managing director of Wizz Air UK.

Despite the fact that these routes were well-liked over the summer, the difficult macroeconomic situation makes it unprofitable to continue operating them during the next winter.

This forces us to halt certain routes until the next spring.

“We sincerely apologise for the trouble this would cause our previous clients who have already made airline reservations. All impacted clients have been contacted by us to discuss their options.

It takes time to establish stable operations at any location, but we are willing to take our time expanding Cardiff’s activities.

To provide 350,000 more annual seats to Cardiff Airport, the firm established a new base there in December 2020, resulting in the creation of 40 additional jobs.

It did, however, record increased losses of £381 million for the first quarter of this year, which it attributed to the impact of rising fuel prices and recent airport disruptions.

Rising demand and ticket prices, according to the statement, should guarantee a “substantial operational profit” in the second quarter.

Since March 2013, the Welsh Government has owned Cardiff Airport.

Julie James, a minister for the Welsh Government, stated: “While the timing is regrettable, the airport board is optimistic about its recovery from the pandemic since there is still a strong demand for travel this year.

Despite this news, “My officials will continue to keep a tight and open discussion with the airport board,” I am still optimistic about the airport’s rehabilitation and future expansion.

Natasha Asghar, a Welsh Conservative shadow minister for transportation, said that the news was “very discouraging” for Cardiff Airport, which has already seen a decline in travellers and is still losing money.

Wales needs a new airport that will attract airlines in order to grow its economy and promote Wales abroad.

Labour ministries must keep an eye on the issue and immediately clarify when the flights will return and what other routes other airlines have in mind.