Wizz Air is expecting to retain only 10-15 Airbus A321XLR twinjets, rather than the 47 it ordered, as it shifts its business strategy away from the Middle East.

The airline is shutting down its Abu Dhabi operation from September.

“Wind-up plans [are] underway,” the carrier states in a first-quarter briefing.

It will redeploy four locally-registered A321neos once the aircraft are re-registered, while eight older A321s will be parked and used for spare capacity at peak holiday times.

Wizz Air is axing the Abu Dhabi division not only for geopolitical reasons – it has not been able to access certain important markets – but also operational ones.

It says engines are more vulnerable to the harsh conditions, and degrade faster.

“We knew this going in,” it admits. “But without sufficient engine shop visit capacity and the ability to charge a revenue premium, this breaches strategic rationale.”

Wizz Air says the Abu Dhabi division’s flights were performing “below” the company’s targets.

Suspension “immediately eliminates” a loss-making operation, it states, allowing the aircraft to be redeployed to Europe where their financial performance will improve.

Wizz says the decision will have a “limited” incremental impact on its profit-and-loss account in fiscal 2025-26, with an “upside” from 2026-27.