Following the success of its three times a week flights to Katowice, Wizz Air is to add another Polish destination for next summer, Gdansk, best known in more recent times as the home of the Solidarity movement.
The city has been a principle seaport since medieval times and subsequently a major ship-building centre. It is the sixth largest city in Poland.
Coventry Airport managing director, Chris Orphanou, said: ”Existing Wizz Air services between Katowice and Coventry have been extremely successful [and] the West Midlands region has strong historical links with Poland.”
Speaking to ABTN, Orphanou said that the airport was confident of adding further destinations for next summer. ”Wizz Air has been very pleased with the Katowice route which has exceeded its expectations,” he said. ”We are in discussions regarding five or six new routes for 2008.”
Starting 15 March next year, the airline will fly thrice-weekly to Gdansk (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday), using 180-seat Airbus A320 aircraft. Coventry is one of nine UK airports that Wizz Air serves.
The major operator at Coventry Airport is Thompsonfly.com, part of Tui, operating to nine destinations.
First opened in 1936 and for many years a major freight airport, Coventry recommenced passenger operations in March 2004. The airport is now used by nearly 700,000 passengers a year, from Coventry, Leamington, and surrounding areas and competes with Birmingham International in the low-cost market.
In June of this year, the two Secretaries of State surprisingly rejected the airport”s planning application to construct a more permanent terminal building for up to two million passengers annually. This decision is now being challenged by a formal appeal to the High Court with the airport ”cautiously optimistic."