Wizz Air is reducing the number of flights it operates from Gatwick airport as it looks to cut costs, the budget airline’s boss has revealed.
Wizz Chief Executive József Váradi has said the airline was losing money due to high operating fees and poor departure slots at the busy airport.
The airline will now put on more flights at Luton Airport due to lower operating costs, the Telegraph reports.
Mr Váradi said: “Gatwick is expensive and we have been operating an inferior set of slots there. We think that we can enhance financial performance by operating that capacity from Luton.”
He added: “Circumstances change and you have to take action. Whichever bases give you the most profitability, you should be biased toward them. That includes moving aircraft over from Gatwick to Luton.”
The CEO explained that the airline will begin by permanently moving an aircraft from Gatwick to Luton, before considering shifting its fleet.
That would mean 13 planes would operate out of Luton, while a further seven aircraft would operate from Gatwick.
Mr Váradi confirmed the airline had no plans to leave Gatwick but insisted “we are simply more efficient financially in Luton”.
“Gatwick is stuck. It is so set with regard to slots that no newcomer can make any significant difference,” he said.
It comes after Gatwick Airport was given the green light for a £2.2billion second runway earlier this year.
In the privately-financed project, the West Sussex airport will move its emergency runway 12 metres north, enabling it to be used for departures of narrow-bodied planes such as Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s.
This will enable it to be used for about 100,000 more flights a year.
On Friday, Blue Islands became the latest UK airline to collapse and had to cancel all its flights with immediate effect.
The airline, which operated regular services between Jersey and several English airports, announced that it had ceased trading and that all future flights were cancelled.
The shutdown comes just days after regional carrier Eastern Airways also halted all flights and stopped selling tickets as it faces closure.
