Recently-launched flights to Jordan will also be suspended due to the security situation in the Middle East.
Wizz Air has postponed the planned resumption of flights to Abu Dhabi from six European cities and suspended its newly launched Budapest-Amman service, less than a month after announcing the routes.
The Central European budget carrier cites the latest security updates for the region from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
Wizz Air had planned to restore services to Abu Dhabi from Budapest, Cluj in Romania, Krakow and Katowice in Poland, Larnaca in Cyprus and Bulgarian capital Sofia in late October. However, it now says these routes have been postponed until 10 January 2027.
“The continued closure of Iraqi airspace requires longer routings and technical refuelling stops for the [Airbus] A321neo aircraft operating these services,” says Wizz Air. “Combined with current fuel prices, this makes the affected routes commercially unviable under present conditions.”
The planned return to the emirate followed the axing by Wizz Air of its Abu Dhabi subsidiary just over a year ago. The airline, which has “no plans” to re-open a base in the emirate said last year that it was shuttering its subsidiary due to “operational challenges” and “geopolitical developments, noting that it would instead focus on its core European operations.
Wizz Air also began flights between Budapest and Amman last month but now says that services to Jordan have been suspended until 25 October because Jordanian airspace “has been put on the ‘do not operate’ list by EASA’s latest CZIB [conflict zone information bulletin]”.
EASA revised its CZIB for Jordan late last month, “to reflect the change in the risk level”.
In its latest advisory, the agency says: “Recurrent Iranian missile attacks, and to a lesser extent drone attacks, against assets in Jordan, together with the activation of air-defence systems, create an increased risk of mis-identification of civil aircraft, as well as risks associated with missile overflights, interception activity and falling debris.”
EASA recommends against operating “at all altitudes and flight levels” in Jordan’s airspace.
Wizz Air had previously suspended services to Abu Dhabi, Amman, Dubai and Israel following the attacks on Iran by the USA and Israel in late February.
A number of airlines have since announced plans to resume flights to the region, but a fragile ceasefire has not held and tension between the United States and Iran has been ratcheting back up in recent weeks.
On the latest postponement, Wizz Air notes that “affected customers will be informed directly about their options” and the airline “will continue to monitor conditions ahead of the revised launch date”.
The post Wizz Air pushes back Abu Dhabi return as EASA updates security advice first appeared on FlightGlobal.