Wizz Air to set up UK airline amid growing Brexit worries within aviation sector

Budget airline Wizz Air has unveiled plans to set up a UK subsidiary to allow it to continue operating in Britain after Brexit.

The Hungary-based company is the latest carrier to adopt similar measure in a bid to protect itself from any potential disruption that a so-called 'hard Brexit' could cause to the airline sector.

Last week, Philip Hammond warned a worst-case Brexit scenario could see all air traffic between the UK and the European Union grounded the day after Britain leaves the bloc on 29 March 2019

Wizz Air, Britain's eighth-largest airline operator, said that it has applied for an Air Operator's Certificate and Operating Licence for Wizz Air UK, which will take over Wizz Air Hungary's base at London Luton airport.

The carrier's chief executive József Váradi, who earlier this year warned of the danger of Britain leaving the EU without a bilateral deal, said the move was a logical step for the airline.

"It is a natural, next-step in the development of our UK business and will bring additional investment and jobs to our UK base at London Luton," he said on Wednesday (18 October).

"The UK remains the single biggest travel market in Europe and [...] this move is also part of our broader strategy to ensure that our UK operations are Brexit-ready. We look forward to working with the CAA to take this application forward."

In July, fellow budget airline easyJet followed a similar procedure to launch a new airline to continue to operate flights both across Europe and domestically within European countries after the UK has left the EU.

Earlier this year, easyJet, which is also based at Luton, held talks with EU member states to move its legal HQ to the continent, highlighting the impact leaving the bloc would have on a number of British businesses with great exposure to Europe.