Low-cost carrier Wizz Air has taken a leaf out of Irish budget airline Ryanair's playbook and launched its United Kingdom summer schedule for 2022. On April 27, Ryanair released its summer 2022 schedule that will see Europe's biggest airline offering 160 routes from the United Kingdom to various destinations throughout Europe.

Wizz Air UK A321
Wizz Air puts summer 2022 seats for sale. Photo: Getty Images.

By following suit, Europe's fastest-growing airline Wizz Air is offering its customers the opportunity to plan a summer 2022 holiday well in advance. With flights from 12 United Kingdom airports, Wizz Air is well placed to offer summer sun-seekers a place to stretch out their towels at any one of the airline's 80 European destinations.

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Wizz Air summer 2022 destinations

From Cardiff Airport:

From its newest base at Cardiff Airport (CWL), Wizz Air will offer vacationers flights aboard an Airbus 230 seat all-economy Airbus A321 aircraft. From Wizz Air's first venture into Wales, customers will be able to visit the Ionian Greek Island of Corfu. If you get fed up with the beach or lying by the pool, Corfu allows visitors to soak up its cultural heritage that reflects years spent under Venetian, French and British rule.

Flights to Portugal, this summer's hot destination due to the country being on the UK green list, will be on offer with Wizz Air flying from South Wales to Faro in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. Culturally rich and full of enticing attractions, Faro is a city that will appeal to many visitors.

From Doncaster Sheffield Airport:

Once home to Britain's long-range Vulcan bomber, RAF Finningley, now known as Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA), is another relatively new base for Wizz Air. From South Yorkshire, Wizz Air customers will be able to jet off to sunny Spain with the airline operating flights to Malaga on the Costa del Sol and Alicante on the Costa Blanca.  Wizz Air also flies to the Canary Island of Fuerteventura and Larnaca, Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean.

From Luton Airport:

From its main UK base at London Luton Airport (LTN), Wizz Air offers over 70 routes to popular destinations like Malaga in southern Spain and the beautiful Italian island of Sicily. From LTN, passengers can also fly to the latest new hotspot in Turkey. Located on the southwestern coast of Turkey, Dalman is known for its beautiful beaches, natural wonders, and ancient ruins. Also, with Turkey using the Turkish Lira and not the Euro, visitors will find that their pounds go a lot further.

From Gatwick Airport:

From its base at London Gatwick Airport (LGW), Wizz Air customers in Southern England have the choice of many popular summer holiday hotspots such as Malta, Malaga, Athens, and Lanzarote in Spain's Canary Islands.

The UK Green List

As England prepares to enter the next phase of its roadmap out of the lockdown, the UK government has published a list of which countries citizens and residents will be allowed to visit without having to quarantine when returning home. Using a traffic light-like system that puts countries into tiers based on their COVID-19 risk levels.

Wizz Air A321
Wizz Air flies to Faro in Portugal from the UK. Photo: Getty Images

The countries making the UK green list are:

  • Portugal
  • Gibraltar
  • Israel
  • Australia
  • New Zealand
  • Singapore
  • Brunei
  • Iceland
  • Faroe Islands
  • Several small remote islands are British Overseas Territories.

Despite being deemed safe to travel to, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, and the Faroe Islands all have strict COVID-19 rules in place, effectively making them not worth the hassle of trying to visit. The standout country that will appeal to many summer holidaymakers is Portugal.

Many people will wait until 2022

While anyone who can afford it will be eager to get away this summer, we are still a long way from being back to the way things were pre-Covid-19. Because the pandemic is still ongoing, as we have seen from the horribly disturbing footage coming out of India, travel rules can change with little or no notice.

Wizz Air A320
Wizz Air offers COVID-19 insurance. Photo: Getty Images)

By allowing customers to book a summer holiday for 2022 now, Wizz Air is betting that many people would rather plan for next year than risk going abroad this summer. Wizz Air is also making booking a summer 2022 flight now easier by offering COVID-19 insurance that allows passengers to cancel their flight up to three hours before departure with a full refund in airline credit.

What do you think about Wizz Air offering summer 2022 flights for sale now? Please tell us your thoughts in the comments.