Wizz Air will deploy a third aircraft to Venice Marco Polo Airport to support its expansion.
Wizz Air is doubling down on its largest market by launching 16 new routes from four Italian airports as low-cost operators grow in the country and competition between them continues to intensify.
The expansion will add connections over the coming months from Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino, Pescara and Venice, including the addition of a third Airbus A321neo at Wizz Air's Venice Marco Polo Airport base.
New routes include Milan Malpensa-Alicante from Oct. 26 (4X-weekly), Milan Malpensa-Seville from Oct. 26 (5X-weekly) and daily Venice-London Luton service starting Dec. 1. Other new city pairs link Italy with airports in Cyprus, France, Georgia, Israel, Romania, Spain and the UK.
The deployment of a third aircraft at Wizz Air's Venice base will support seven of the new routes, including the carrier's entry into the Venice-Tel Aviv and Venice-Kutaisi markets.
“The new connections from Venice, along with those from Malpensa, Fiumicino and Pescara, are not just a network expansion, but a tangible testament to our investment in Italy and our dedication to serving a growing demand,” a Wizz Air spokesperson says.
The expansion comes as Italy's airline market continues to tilt toward low-cost carriers. During the summer 2025 season, data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser shows that LCCs are offering 54.1 million departure seats from and within Italy, capturing 60.6% of total capacity, compared with 60.3% in summer 2024. In 2019, the LCC share was 48.5%, with 36.9 million seats.
Domestic services have seen an even sharper shift, with LCCs controlling 64.4% of the summer 2025 market, up from 61.1% last year and 48.4% in 2019.
Ryanair remains Italy's dominant player, with 30.4 million departure seats this summer for a 34% market share. Flag carrier ITA Airways ranks second with 9.7 million seats (10.9%), followed by easyJet at 8.3 million (9.3%). Wizz Air holds fourth place with 7.1 million seats and an 8.4% share, marking a significant climb from 2.5% in summer 2019, when it offered about 1.8 million seats.
Ryanair and Wizz Air's expansion in Italy has accelerated since Alitalia ceased operations in October 2021. The flag carrier's successor ITA Airways entered the market with a smaller fleet and a more limited route network.
The Italian move comes as Wizz Air focuses on its core European markets where it sees stronger long-term potential and profitability. As part of this strategy, the Hungarian ULCC is closing its Abu Dhabi-based joint venture from September and reducing flying to "hot and harsh" environments. It will also substantially scale back its Airbus A321XLR order, reducing its original commitment of 47 to between 10 and 15 aircraft, likely exercizing its right to switch to other variants in the A320neo family.
Following the Abu Dhabi closure announcement, Wizz Air has unveiled plans for a two-aircraft base in Bratislava with 12 new routes, alongside expansions at its Romanian bases in Cluj and Craiova and in Sofia, Bulgaria.
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