Budget airline expands Cyprus network with third Spanish connection as part of wider push into peninsula
Wizz Air touched down in the Spanish capital for the first time on Friday, launching a new direct service between Larnaca and Madrid that adds to the carrier’s growing footprint on the island.
The route, which will operate three times a week, follows the airline’s earlier launch of a Larnaca-Barcelona connection and is being pitched as a boost for tourism, trade and business travel between Cyprus and Spain. Larnaca airport operator Hermes Airports marked the occasion with an event at the departure gate, where passengers on the inaugural flight were treated to a small send-off before boarding.
Andras Szabo, Wizz Air’s network director, said the new link connected “two destinations of major strategic importance” for the airline, describing it as reflective of the company’s continuing commitment to Cyprus and its ambition to deepen connectivity with Spain. He said the route would give passengers greater choice, better value and easier access to new opportunities for travel, business and tourism.
Maria Kouroupi, Hermes Airports’ director of aviation development, marketing and communications, called the launch “a significant addition” to the airport’s route network, crediting what she described as close and sustained cooperation with Wizz Air, which she called a longstanding partner of the airport operator. Tickets are on sale via wizzair.com and the WIZZ app.
The announcement comes as Wizz Air continues to court Cypriot recruits for its pilot training scheme. Having opened its Pilot Academy to applicants from Cyprus earlier this year, the airline said it was expanding opportunities for trainee and prospective pilots to access what it calls “world-class training” through a financing model designed to widen access to the cockpit.
The airline will hold an open day on 27 September at the Cleopatra Hotel in Nicosia, with sessions from 4pm for experienced pilots and from 6pm for prospective applicants, giving candidates and their families the chance to meet Wizz Air representatives and learn more about the application process.
