Wizz expects to take delivery of its first A321XLR in March.
Wizz Air is expanding its Saudi Arabia operations with the launch of a second Airbus A321XLR route from London Gatwick Airport (LGW), introducing nonstop flights to Medina.
The long-haul service, set to begin Aug. 1, will make the ULCC the sole airline to offer nonstop flights between the cities. It comes as Wizz prepares to take delivery of its first A321XLR, with its inaugural commercial flight scheduled from LGW to Jeddah on March 31.
With the introduction of the daily Medina service, the airline will offer more than 174,000 seats per year on the route, improving access to the holy city for UK travelers.
“It is great to be able to offer more choice to our passengers with a second destination in Saudi Arabia, particularly as Medina is considered the second of the three holiest cities in Islamic tradition and therefore very popular for pilgrimages,” says Stephanie Wear, LGW's vice president of aviation development.
Wizz’s expansion in Saudi Arabia aligns with the kingdom’s Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to increase international tourism and drive economic diversification. Saudi Arabia is targeting annual passenger growth to 330 million and plans to expand air connectivity to more than 250 destinations worldwide.
Wizz has 47 A321XLRs on order and the extended range of 4,700 nm opens up the prospect of new routes beyond the airline’s traditional network, with Western European cities to India seen as a key area of interest.
CEO József Váradi previously said that the intention was to position the incoming fleet at six to eight operating bases, with three to five aircraft at each. “We need to be at some scale at each of the places, so you have some kind of mass,” he explained. “You need to think of operational back-up if something goes wrong.”
London Gatwick-Medina becomes the third A321XLR route to be announced by Wizz, joining the planned London Gatwick-Jeddah flights and a route between Milan Malpensa and Abu Dhabi, set to commence in June.
The London-Medina market has lacked regular scheduled service, although Saudia operated limited flights until 2019 for Hajj travelers. According to Sabre Market Intelligence figures, O&D traffic between the cities totaled almost 158,000 two-way passengers in 2024, making it the sixth-largest city pair between Europe and Saudi Arabia.
Wizz launched its first service to Saudi Arabia in September 2022 and currently offers nine routes to the country, linking: Jeddah with Bucharest, Budapest, Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino and Vienna; Riyadh with Budapest and Vienna; and Dammam and Medina with Abu Dhabi.
The ULCC has also announced another new route from London Gatwick to Warsaw Chopin Airport, which will start on Aug. 2 and operate daily.
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