Wizz Air UK, the British subsidiary of the pan-European ultra-low-cost carrier, has applied to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) for permission to fly to the United States.
The application, which was filed on January 23, 2026, by Holland & Knight, legal counsel of Wizz Air UK, refers to the terms of the Open Skies agreement of 2020 between the United States and the United Kingdom to request the right to conduct scheduled and charter operations between the two countries.
Also noted in the request is the fact that William Franke, Chairman of WA Holdings, parent company of Wizz Air UK, is a US citizen.
Wizz Air had applied to the US DOT for a Foreign Air Carrier Permit (FACP) in January 2022, in order to be able to conduct cargo operations. At that time, the application, which was opposed by several pilot unions, was turned down.
If Wizz Air finally launches flights to the US, it would be, however, a remarkable departure from the airline’s previous policy of avoiding the Transatlantic passenger market.
In a 2023 Executive Spotlight interview with AeroTime, Wizz Air’s CEO, Joszef Várady explicitly ruled out expanding in the North American market. However, the carrier’s strategy has changed significantly in the intervening years, including a withdrawal from some Middle Eastern markets and a readjusting of capacity.
As of January 2026, Wizz Air UK has a fleet of 21 A321neo aircraft, of which three are of the XLR version, which has a range of 4,700nm (8,700 km), enough to reach large swathes of the United States from the UK. Wizz Air UK plans to receive another eight aircraft of this type in the near future, which will expand significantly its capability to operate regular services to the US.
Wizz Air already had a test run of sorts for this type of operation in November 2025, when one of the airline’s A321XLR aircraft flew Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, between Budapest (BUD) and Washington DC, together and an official delegation.
A Wizz Air entry could be potentially transformative for the competitive dynamics in the Transatlantic market. While there is currently no shortage of options to fly nonstop between the US and the UK, none of them is offered a pure low-cost carrier.
The possibility of Wizz Air also obtaining permission, at a later stage, for its mainline EU subsidiary is also intriguing. Such a move would open interesting growth perspectives for airports in Central and Eastern Europe, such as Budapest, which currently see very limited Transatlantic service, or, in some cases, none at all.
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