Wizz Air has opened its first UK base at London Luton Airport.

Wizz will base one of its new Airbus A320 aircraft at the airport, increasing operations to 42 routes from Luton, including three new services to Tel Aviv, Prishtina and Kutaisi.

The base establishment at London Luton represents a major investment in the UK by WIZZ, creating 36 direct jobs with the airline.

Wizz Air’s local crew is trained to the highest standards and Wizz Air’s fleet is one of the youngest in Europe, ensuring a high-quality customer experience on every flight.

The new base aircraft will support the start of operations of three new long awaited routes from London Luton: Tel Aviv in Israel; Pristina in Kosovo; and Kutaisi in Georgia, which is the only direct connection between Kutaisi and the UK.

Frequencies on some of the most popular routes to Romania will also increase with the arrival of the new aircraft: Suceava will run five times per week; Constanta four times per week; and Iasi flights will now operate daily.

In 2016 Wizz carried more than five million passengers on its London Luton routes, making it the second largest operator at the airport.

In 2017 Wizz Air will have almost 6.3 million seats on sale on its London Luton routes, representing 13 per cent growth year on year.

Owain Jones, chief corporate officer at Wizz Air, said: “We are proud to celebrate the opening of the first Wizz base in the United Kingdom at London Luton Airport.

“Wizz Air’s very first flight in 2004 was to London Luton and, since then, we have carried 30 million passengers on our low fare routes from the airport, stimulating the local tourism and aviation industries while strengthening business partnerships between the UK and CEE.”