Tag Archives: Joszef Varadi

Joszef Varadi, CEO, Wizz Air confirmed his ambitions for the low-cost carrier’s impending move to operate and serve in the GCC markets, in an interview with aviation industry consultant John Strickland at ATM Virtual. Varadi said, “We managed to grow our fleet to 100 aircraft over the last 15 years in the EU and we should be able to do the same thing in Abu Dhabi.” Expanding on his forecast, he added, “You should be looking at our platform, not necessarily just Abu Dhabi, we want to serve the UAE and possibly the broader GCC markets.” Varadi went to talk about the current situation and the desire to travel, versus the ability to travel. He claimed that his customers were motivated to travel especially younger customers, who generally are more adventurous and less affected by the pandemic. However, the inconsistent response from different governments to the COVID-19 situation was not supporting the industry and that a framework of regulations was needed, to enable aviation to recover. “Airports did well after 9/11 introducing heightened security measures and we need similar measures regarding health and safety. While airports and airlines are quiet it is easier to practice social distancing, but not when we start to become busier.There is no scientific evidence to suggest any passengers have contracted the virus while flying. In fact, the air filtration onboard aircraft is comparable with an intensive care unit,” he said. “I do support wearing masks, hand sanitising, disinfecting and reducing the amount of high touch points such as cash payments for onboard catering and inflight magazines. It’s all about liquidity and what that provides to your business. If we do not fly a single passenger …

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