The first flight from Aberdeen to Warsaw took off yesterday, creating a new air link between the Granite City and one of eastern Europe’s biggest capitals.
Operated by Wizz Air, the new twice weekly, year-round service is a boost for bosses at Aberdeen International Arport (AIA) at a time of falling passenger figures.
AIA route development manager Lynn Harwood said: “Wizz Air is an ambitious and rapidly growing airline and the addition of Warsaw is fantastic news for the airport and the city.
“We are continually working to expand our route network and not only will Wizz Air’s new routes strengthen our connectivity with Europe’s major cities, it has huge potential to generate significant in-bound tourism for Aberdeen.”
Hungary-based Wizz Air touched down in Aberdeen last summer, when it launched a twice weekly service between the Granite City and Gdansk in Poland.
“We are thrilled to be celebrating the launch of our Warsaw route from Aberdeen, one of our nine UK airports,” a spokesman for the budget airline said yesterday.
Expansion at Aberdeen means Wizz now operates a total of 420 routes to 39 countries, using a fleet of 67 Airbus A320 and Airbus A321 aircraft.
Its new flights to Poland add a new option for north-east passengers travelling to other parts of eastern Europe. They are also likely to prove popular with the many Polish people living in Aberdeen city and shire, and even further afield.
Wizz, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and was recently named value airline of the year by a leading trade publication, also operates out of Glasgow.
Passenger numbers released by AIA earlier this week showed a continuing negative impact from the North Sea downturn.
A total of 255,000 people travelled through the airport during April, a 15.6% plunge from a year ago to continue a monthly decline which started early last year.
But more than 3.5million people travelled through the terminal during 2015, its second busiest year on record, and the numbers are expected to start rising again once the local economy starts to pick up.