Wizz Air says it’s ‘committed’ to setting up base at Ben Gurion Airport by spring 2026

Wizz Air says the Hungarian low-cost carrier is “committed” to setting up a base at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport as early as March or April in a move that could boost competition and bring down sky-high fares for travelers.

“We are fully committed to put the idea of a Wizz base into effect here in Israel,” says Wizz Air CEO József Váradi during a visit to Israel. “We want to be seen as a good corporate citizen embedded in Israeli society.”

Váradi made the statement after meeting with Transportation Minister Miri Regev and ministry officials.

“Today, we had great discussions to understand the opportunities there are in Israel and some of the issues being technical, business, or regulatory type of issues, and the next steps we have to make,” says Váradi.

In a joint statement following the meeting, Regev and Váradi said the two agreed to work on outstanding issues over the next two months to try to conclude the discussions by the end of January.

“We are fully committed to make further progress with the objective of starting to put that idea [of a hub in Israel] into actual reality as soon as we can and hopefully that will be in March or April time,” says Váradi.

Commenting on the plan, Regev says more competition will help lower airfares, increase seat availability, and improve services.