Wizz Air passenger traffic rises on monthly and annual basis in May

(Alliance News) - Wizz Air Holdings PLC on Tuesday posted higher passenger traffic in May, reflecting an acceleration into the summer travel season.

The Budapest-based budget airline carried 7.1 million passengers in May, up 26% from 5.7 million passengers on-year. This marked an acceleration from April, when the airline saw passenger traffic grow 22% on-year to 6.6 million. On a monthly basis, traffic had ticked up by 7.5%.

Capacity rose 25% from the year prior to 7.8 million seats from 6.2 million seats, while load factor increased by 0.5 percentage points on-year to 91.7% from 91.2%.

On a rolling 12-month basis, passenger traffic was up 12% to 72.4 million passengers from 64.5 million, while capacity rose 13% to 79.9 million from 70.7 million. Load factor was down 0.5 percentage points to 90.7% from 91.1%.

Wizz Air resumed flights to Tel Aviv at the end of May, following a suspension prompted by the US-Israeli war with Iran. According to the company, its Italian business continues to grow, with further flights to be based in Milan, Naples and Catania later this year.

The company also noted a positive contribution to flight traffic in May due to the UEFA Champions League Final in Budapest.

Last month, Wizz Air said it expects to report a "breakeven to slightly positive net profit result" for the year that ended March 31.

Back in March, it had forecast net profit below the guidance issued in January, where it put the range between a EUR25 million loss and a EUR25 million profit.

"Looking forward, the conflict in the Middle East has introduced near-term uncertainty around fuel costs and customer demand," Wizz Air noted.

The carrier said it is 70% hedged for its summer fuel needs, at around USD720 per metric tonne. It also said it has used promotional fares to stoke demand in the first half of the new financial year.

Wizz Air shares rose 2.4% to 1,043.00 pence on Tuesday morning in London, but are down 35% over the past year.

By Holly Munks, Alliance News reporter

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