Wizz Air Holdings Plc (LON:WIZZ), the largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, today announced that as a result of the travel restrictions imposed on all foreign flights announced by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki effective as of 00:00 HRS March 15, 2020, the airline has suspended all its flights to and from Poland until further notice.
The travel restrictions come as a response to minimise the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. Starting from 00:00 HRS local time on 15 March 2020, no foreign citizens will be allowed to enter Poland, while Polish citizens arriving from abroad will be placed in quarantine. Passengers with bookings affected by flight suspensions will be automatically informed via e-mail, in case the customers booked directly on wizzair.com or via the airline’s mobile app. The health and safety of crew and passengers remains Wizz Air’s top priority.
The travel ban imposed by the Polish government affects 20% of Wizz Air’s capacity. At this point in time it is difficult to predict the duration and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Wizz Air as governments across Europe are implementing strategies to cope with the virus, however, the company’s ultra-low cost business model and our strong balance sheet with €1.3bn of free cash (as at 31 December 2019) provide a solid foundation and a significant competitive advantage in the current challenging environment for airlines, while also making us a long-term structural winner in the aviation sector.
Wizz Air Holdings will provide a pre-close year end trading statement ahead of the Company’s full year F20 close period that starts on 1 April 2020.
