Low-cost airline Wizz Air is to open its first UK base. The Hungary-based carrier announced that its 28th base will open at London Luton Airport on June 18th with one new Airbus A320 aircraft.
Wizz Air is already the second largest airline at London Luton and establishing the base will increase its number of routes to 42.
The three new routes will be to Tel Aviv in Israel, Kosovo and Georgia.
The airline's chief executive, Jozsef Varadi, said the decision "underlines Wizz Air's commitment to the UK". He went on: "Our first Wizz Air flight from the UK took off from London Luton in 2004 and since then, we have carried over 35 million passengers on our low-fare UK routes.
“Wizz is bringing direct connections and the lowest-fare opportunities to our customers in the UK to explore everything that the CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) region has to offer, whether visiting their friends and family, taking city breaks, exploring undiscovered countryside or sophisticated sea and ski resorts.”
The announcement will be a boost for the UK aviation industry after Ryanair said it will "pivot" growth away from the country's airports and focus more on growing airports in the rest of Europe following the Brexit vote.