Travel
Would you ‘suffer the pain’ of a long-haul budget flight? Wizz Air hopes so with new Saudi service
The budget airline will introduce long-haul routes from March 2025.
Wizz Air, which earlier this year received the unenviable title of ‘Worst Airline in Europe’ from consumer body Which? – has announced it’s launching long-haul flights.
The Hungary-based company will start flying from London Gatwick to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in March 2025 and will follow in June with a route from Milan to Abu Dhabi.
Known as a no-frills airline, with all add-ons costing customers extra, Wizz Air’s long-haul flights are likely to offer much the same experience as on shorter trips.
The company’s CEO, József Váradi, is clearly aware of this, saying he hopes budget-savvy customers are willing to “suffer the pain” of the gruelling longer flights.
Váradi confirmed that, similarly to its short-haul services in Europe, Wizz Air’s flights to the Middle East will have only economy seats on board.
What will a long-haul flight with Wizz Air be like?
The seats will be in the same format as those on short-haul flights – and they certainly won’t recline or come with any luxurious features.
However, Váradi says he’s confident that passengers will be happy with the “ultra low-cost” experience – and he expects to launch further similar routes in the near future.
“Fifteen to 20 years ago I thought three hours would test passenger tolerance,” Váradi explained at a press conference. “[But] people vote with their wallets.”
The launch comes at the same time as the introduction of a new Airbus fleet capable of longer journeys.
The Airbus A321 XLR light-body aircraft allows Wizz Air to increase its maximum flight time from six hours to eight.
Fares will start from £134.99 (€160) for UK passengers for a one-way flight to Jeddah. On the way back, journeys will be slightly cheaper, owing to the UK’s air passenger duty charge. That figure is about half as much as a standard flight to the Saudi Arabian city, if booked today.
“I just think that economics are so crucial to people,” Váradi enthused. “When you take a light body aircraft of any kind, and you take economy versus what most people do, you sacrifice some level of comfort.
“You are not on a flatbed. You suffer the pain if you wish for the economic benefits that you are deriving from the transaction,” he added.
While it appears these long-haul flights are just the start of Váradi’s plans, he confirmed that the company has no intention of crossing the Atlantic to the US with its new aircraft.
Several airlines, including Ireland’s Aer Lingus, already fly transatlantic on slightly older Airbus A321LR single-aisle jets, but Váradi said that Wizz would simply be “buried” by competitors flying across the pond.
“We don’t want to be bullied in the ocean,” he said.
Is Wizz Air the right airline to take such a jump in aviation?
Wizz has been attempting to make strides in the industry recently, last month announcing an all-you-can-fly subscription – with no-frills, of course.
Despite these attempts to improve its reputation, the airline has been ranked Europe’s worst by Which? for two consecutive years.
In the last ranking, it received just one star for both seat comfort and cabin environment – and only two stars in every other category.
Which? found that some 44 per cent of passengers surveyed reported some sort of problem with their trip, including being split up from fellow travellers who didn’t pay for seat selection.
That’s likely to hit harder on an eight-hour flight, as opposed to a two-hour journey.
Wizz Air also recorded the worst punctuality for three consecutive years in an analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data by PA News.
Are budget long-haul flights sustainable?
On top of that, there is sustainability to consider.
While Wizz was named the Most Sustainable Low-Cost Airline for the fourth consecutive year at the World Finance Sustainability Awards 2024, its new schemes could see it stand to lose this title.
Speaking to Euronews Travel after the launch of the subscription service in August, some environmentalists expressed their dismay over the “climate-wrecking”new scheme.
Campaign group Stay Grounded called for an urgent ban on frequent flyer programmes, the introduction of a frequent flying levy, and investment in grounded transport, “in order to avoid the worst of climate breakdown”.
Last year, UK non-profit the Travel Foundation said the global availability of long haul flights needs to be capped if we are to meet global climate goals.
Wizz remains confident that its new launches are a good thing – and not as damaging to the environment as opponents say.
“Wizz Air is proud to have the lowest carbon emissions intensity among our airline competitors,” a Wizz Air spokesperson told Euronews Travel in August.
The airline also added that it stands by its aim of reducing its CO2 emissions by 25 per cent by 2030 – compared to 2019 levels.
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By Euronews Travel
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Norway is set to become the latest European destination to introduce a tourist tax to combat concerns about rising visitor numbers.
Lawmakers approved the new levy on Thursday, which allows municipalities to introduce a 3 per cent tax on overnight stays in “areas particularly affected by tourism”.
The law allows local authorities to apply the tax at their own discretion, and it will be added to accommodation charges. Authorities will also be allowed to adjust the percentage based on the season.
The funds raised by the tax will be used exclusively to improve tourism infrastructure projects that benefit both visitors and local people. Municipalities will have to demonstrate that their facilities are inadequate and have their plans approved by the government to spend the funds.
Cecilie Myrseth, Norway’s minister of trade and industry, said on social media that her government had reached a “historic agreement” to introduce a tourism tax that was “in line with what they have in the rest of Europe”.
The country is the latest in a string of European nations introducing or increasing visitor levies to tackle the growing problem of overtourism. A tax may also be applied to cruise ships that make stops in the country, particularly in areas that are most affected by overtourism.
Norway is experiencing a tourism boom
As tourists increasingly choose cooler, northern European destinations to get away from the heat, Norway has experienced a boom in visitor numbers.
Last year, a record-breaking 38.6 million people booked accommodation in the country. That includes more than 12 million overnight stays by foreign tourists – a 4.2 per cent increase from 2023.
Some previously quiet destinations have been overwhelmed, like the Lofoten islands, where eye-catching images of hiking trails posted on social media have led to an influx of visitors. With a population of 24,500 people distributed across several small towns and villages, keeping up with the cost of all these new visitors has been hard.
A recent survey by industry organisation Norwegian Tourism Partners found that 77 per cent of people in Tromsø, in northern Norway above the Arctic Circle, thought there were too many tourists there. Visitors have been drawn by the Northern Lights, wildlife excursions, Sami cultural experiences and what the city itself has to offer.
The increase in tourism has caused tension with local residents across Norway as infrastructure has struggled to keep up with the boom. Facilities like public toilets and car parks have been overwhelmed in popular destinations.
Some residents have even reported cases of people using their back gardens as toilets, and bemoaned the increased traffic clogging up Norway’s roads.
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As millions of holidaymakers prepare to head to the Canary Islands this summer, authorities have issued a wildfire pre-alert across the archipelago.
The warning, announced by the General Directorate of Emergencies on Sunday, applies to tourist hotspots El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
It comes as the islands enter a high-risk fire period following the wet season, as hot, dry winds known as the ‘calima’ begin blowing in from the Sahara Desert.
Fires are common, but they haven’t slowed tourism
The risk of wildfire is nothing new for the Canary Islands.
The volcanic terrain, Mediterranean climate and fire-adapted vegetation – plants that have evolved to thrive in fire-prone environments – make them susceptible to summer blazes, and scientists say wildfires are part of the archipelago’s ecological rhythm.
Some of the worst occurred in 2023, when forest fires ravaged Tenerife, destroying more than 15,000 hectares of land and forcing 12,000 people to evacuate. The blaze was later found to have been started by arsonists.
This year, officials are urging tourists and locals alike to take extreme caution, warning against launching fireworks near forests and discarding cigarettes on dry ground.
But even as the fire warnings roll in, the Canaries’ appeal shows no signs of slowing down.
In 2024, the islands welcomed nearly 18 million tourists, including a record-breaking 15.5 million international arrivals. Among them, British travellers led the way, recording 6.3 million visits – up 500,000 from 2023.
Concerns about overtourism mount amid record arrivals
While the Canary Islands continue to attract record numbers of tourists, residents are increasingly voicing concerns about overtourism.
In April 2024, tens of thousands of islanders participated in protests, holding signs that read “the Canary Islands have a limit” while rallying against rising housing costs, environmental damage and the strain on public services.
Over Easter this year, about 80,000 hospitality workers in Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierrowalked out in a dispute with unions over pay.
The surge in short-term rentals has been especially contentious. Locals have reported getting priced out of their neighbourhoods as properties are converted into holiday lets, the cost of living soars and wages stagnate.
Despite these concerns, tourism remains a significant part of the Canary Islands’ economy, accounting for approximately 35 per cent of its GDP.
Tenerife still reigns supreme
After welcoming seven million tourists in 2024, Tenerife remains the most visited island.
Its year-round sunshine and wide beaches keep it a firm favourite among families, especially during the UK’s summer school break and throughout the winter months.
As the peak summer season picks up, local tourism boards have made no indication that the fire pre-alerts will disrupt travel plans.
But authorities remain focused on prevention this year.
More than 2,000 firefighters are on standby. Meanwhile, the government has distributed detailed safety advice, urging people to prepare a go-bag, stay informed and follow emergency evacuation or shelter-in-place instructions if fires erupt.
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Travel
Violent turbulence hits Ryanair flight in Germany, forcing an emergency landing and injuring 9
By Euronews Travel with AP
Published on
Severe storms in southern Germany forced a Ryanair flight to make an emergency landing late Wednesday after violent turbulence injured nine people on board, German police said in a statement Thursday.
The flight, travelling from Berlin to Milan with 179 passengers and six crew members, encountered turbulence so intense around 8:30 pm that the pilot was forced to make an unscheduled landing at Memmingen Airport in Bavaria.
Eight passengers and one crew member were hurt.
Three people were taken to the hospital in Memmingen for treatment; the other injured people were released after receiving outpatient treatment. As a precaution, all passengers were checked for injuries by the emergency services.
Authorities did not permit the plane to continue flying, and the airline arranged bus transport for passengers. Milan is about 380 kilometres south of Memmingen.
More bad weather expected in Germany
Elsewhere in the region, storms damaged several homes in Ulm, Baden-Württmberg, according to the German news agency dpa.
In the Donaustetten district, strong winds tore roofs off multiple row houses, rendering them uninhabitable, though no injuries were reported. Fire officials suspect a small tornado or waterspout caused the damage. The German Weather Service (DWD) is investigating, according to dpa.
Storm-related emergency calls also came from other areas in southern Germany, where damage was mostly limited to fallen trees and flooded basements.
The DWD warned of further storms on Thursday, 5 June, with hail, strong winds, and localised heavy rain expected.
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