Exit from Abu Dhabi31 Oct 2025 22:15
CAPA Article
Wizz Air's 14-Jul-2205 announcement that it would close its Abu Dhabi base from 1-Sep-2025 was not really a surprise. The group had signalled that it would at least scale back the operation, which is a joint venture with Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company.
Now into its fifth year, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi accounts for only c5% of Wizz Air Group seats and aircraft, but it reduced the group's net profit by 15% in FY2025.
Moreover, the joint venture has never reported a positive annual result.
The group will refocus its strategy on its core network in Central and Eastern Europe, after struggling with operational, geopolitical and traffic rights challenges in Abu Dhabi.
It can be argued that much of the rationale for closing Wizz Air Abu Dhabi was foreseeable at the launch of the business. Nevertheless, with little prospect of lifting it to profitability, it is a sensible decision to cut the losses and walk away.
Chat GPT :
Given the facts above:
The subsidiary has been losing ~€35-40 m per year, so shutting it down eliminates that drag on profits.
But there will be one-off costs: staff relocation/severance, contract termination, route closure costs, refunds to customers, lease/asset write-off.
The fact it reduced overall group net profit by ~15% suggests the cost of continuing would have been large; so the decision is to stem further losses.
So while I can’t give a definitive “£X million cost for shutdown”, you can reasonably assume the cost is tens of millions of euros, potentially more if large assets or lease obligations must be settled early.
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