Wizz Air Plans 20% Capacity Growth As Network Shifts To Mature Markets

Wizz Air is targeting 20% year-on-year capacity growth in the year to March 2026 as it densifies its network, shifts toward lower-cost secondary airports and builds on the maturity of its most established markets.

The airline expects low to mid-teens growth in the first half of the year, supported by strong forward bookings and improved load factors. “We continue to see a lot of demand going into the summer,” CEO József Váradi told investors following the publication of its full-year results. “People continue to want to fly, and they continue to book tickets.”

As part of its network restructuring, Wizz is consolidating flying on more profitable, established routes. “Loss-making and marginal routes are being replaced with positive contribution services,” the company said. The share of capacity operated on routes less than three years old fell by 14 percentage points in the 2024-25 financial year, reflecting a shift away from new market experimentation.

The strategy also includes increasing focus on lower-cost, secondary airports, with Váradi saying that this will help reduce unit costs over the next three years. Poland, Italy and Hungary—highlighted as Wizz Air’s most resilient markets—are expected to drive near-term growth, while the upcoming introduction of Airbus A321XLRs will enable expansion on longer routes from Central and Eastern Europe.

The airline said it is now able to grow capacity after holding it flat in the previous year due to the widespread grounding of Pratt & Whitney GTF-powered aircraft. With disruption expected to ease over the next two years, Wizz aims to ramp up growth as more aircraft return to service.

To support this expansion, the ULCC expects to take delivery of 42 A321neos and 8 A321XLRs during the 2025-26 financial year, while 18 older Ceo aircraft will exit the fleet.

Váradi said the airline is also preparing for a return to Ukraine, where it sees a major long-term opportunity. “We have already presented a plan to the market, starting with 30 routes from day one and scaling to 150 routes and 15 million seats by year three,” he added.

“We’re seeing that Ukraine is effectively the new Poland. There will be significant VFR traffic … so we’re very positive about Ukraine and eager to [restart service] whenever that becomes possible.”

Wizz is also maintaining a flexible approach to Israel, where operations have continued on an intermittent basis depending on the security situation.