LONDON: European budget airline Wizz Air is launching direct flights between London Gatwick Airport and the Saudi city of Madinah this summer.
The non-stop daily flights from Aug. 1 will use new Airbus A321XLR aircraft, which can fly for up to 11 hours and burn 30 percent less fuel per seat than older aircraft.
Wizz Air’s first flight of the new-generation plane will take place from Gatwick to Jeddah on March 31, The Independent reported.
The airline already operates almost 100 routes across the Middle East, and its expansion into the Kingdom aligns with the Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan.
Saudi Arabia is planning to expand air connectivity to more than 250 destinations around the world as part of wider ambitions to boost tourism, according to Aviation Week.
Travelers seeking to fly from the UK to Madinah must currently take connecting flights. The new service direct to the holy city will cost £233.99 ($295), with more than 174,000 seats available per year on the route, which will have a flight time of about seven hours.
Marion Geoffroy, managing director of Wizz Air UK, said the Gatwick-Madinah route is “an important milestone for the airline, as we continue to widen our network from the UK beyond Europe.”
She added: “This new direct route will give thousands of travelers the chance to connect with a city rich in culture and history, for an affordable price.”
Gatwick’s vice president of aviation development, Stephanie Wear, said: “It is great to be able to offer more choice to our passengers with a second destination in Saudi Arabia, particularly as Madinah is considered the second of the three holiest cities in the Islamic tradition.”
Origin and destination traffic between London and Madinah reached almost 158,000 two-way passengers last year, making it the sixth-largest city pair between Europe and Saudi Arabia, Aviation Week reported.
Wizz Air launched its first service to the Kingdom in September 2022. The ultra-low-cost carrier offers flights from Jeddah to Bucharest, Budapest, Milan, Rome and Vienna; Riyadh to Budapest and Vienna; and Dammam and Madinah to Abu Dhabi.
