New Route of the Day (28 September 2022): Wizz Air between Rome FCO and Dammam
Wizz Air added Saudi Arabia to its route network on Wednesday 28 September. The milestone route was between Rome FCO and Dammam. The 3,820-kilometre route is not served by any other carrier and will be flown 2-weekly using the airline’s A321s. Initially the flights will be on Wednesdays and Sundays, changing to Mondays and Fridays from the beginning of November. This becomes Wizz Air’s 13th longest route according to Cirium schedule data for October. The airline’s longest route is the 4,245-kilometre Vienna-Abu Dhabi route which launched on 28 March this year.
This new route is the first of 22 routes that Wizz Air is launching that will connect Europe to Saudi Arabia. These are (launch date and weekly frequency in brackets):
- Dammam (5): to Budapest (20 April 2023, 2w), Larnaca (4 July 2023, 1w), Rome FCO (28 September 2022, 2w), Tirana (17 April 2023, 2w), Vienna (30 September 2022, 2w)
- Jeddah (7): to Bucharest (10 January 2023, 2w), Budapest (10 January 2023, 2w), Larnaca (8 July 2023, 1w), Rome FCO (11 January 2023, 2w), Milan MXP (3 December 2022, 2w), Venice VCE (18 April 2023, 2w), Vienna (14 December 2022, 2w)
- Riyadh (10): to Bucharest (9 January 2023, 2w), Budapest (9 January 2023, 2w), Catania (18 April 2023, 2w), Larnaca (17 April 2023, 1w), Milan MXP (20 April 2023, 2w), Naples (18 April 2023, 1w), Rome FCO (6 December 2022, 2w), Sofia (20 April 2023, 2w), Venice VCE (20 April 2023, 2w), Vienna (15 December 2022, 2w)
By next summer Budapest, Rome and Vienna will have 6-weekly flights with Wizz Air to Saudi Arabia. In addition, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is launching 4-weekly service from Abu Dhabi to Dammam on 31 October. These services are all being supported by the Saudi Air Connectivity Program, which is keen to attract more tourism to Saudi Arabia.
What they said
Robert Carey, President of Wizz Air, said: “We are excited to commence our first route ever to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The new ultra-low-fare route between Rome and Dammam will provide affordable, point-to-point travel for tourists and residents in both Italy and Saudi Arabia, further strengthening global connectivity. We would like to thank our partners at the Air Connectivity Program, the Ministry of Investment, the Saudi Tourism Authority, Dammam International Airport, and the government of Saudi Arabia for their continuous support. We are committed to supporting the development of the Saudi tourism sector and we look forward to further expansion in Saudi Arabia. The WIZZ team looks forward to welcoming passengers onboard our modern, young, and sustainable aircraft.”
