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be excluded from registering fingerprints. Industry leaders welcomed


the “clarity” brought by the announcement following months of uncertainty, with the system having been scheduled to launch for a ‘big bang’ last November but postponed due to fears the technology was insufficiently robust and untested. The EC also confirmed


introduction of its European Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias) between October and December 2026, but at a fee of €20 (£17) – almost three times the €7 (£6) previously proposed. The EC blamed the increase


on inflation and increased costs, noting other countries charged more than €7 for entry. Industry leaders expressed


anger at the increased Etias fee, describing it as “disproportionate”. European tourism association


Etoa joined Airlines for Europe (A4E), European agents’ and operators’ association Ectaa, hotel association Hotrec and other bodies in demanding a detailed cost breakdown and impact assessment, urging rejection of the increase and demanding “any surplus be assigned to a specific budget or earmarked for travel and tourism”. At the same time, A4E warned


an EC proposal for a standard cabin bag size of 40cm × 30cm × 15cm would result in “higher costs for passengers”, suggesting: “What next? Mandatory popcorn as part of your cinema ticket?” Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary


declared an additional proposal to allow all passengers two free cabin bags “unimplementable”, while Iata accused MEPs of “meddling in issues they don’t understand”.


Wizz Air to revive Israel flights but end Gulf links


Ian Taylor


Wizz Air aims to resume flying to Israel in August despite shutting its base in Abu Dhabi and ceasing Gulf operations (Travel Weekly, July 17). Chief executive Jozsef Varadi


suggested Israel “has become as benign an operating environment as Europe” and said: “We’ll be back flying to Israel from August. The situation has reached a level of calm.” At the same time, he confirmed:


“We’ll be out of operating to Abu Dhabi by the end of August. We’re refocusing on central and eastern Europe, where we have market leadership, economies are growing and we can stimulate the market. “We’ll cease [Abu Dhabi]


operations in October. We have 12 aircraft registered there – four will be redeployed, eight aircraft will be grounded for a period.” Varadi said the aircraft would be on the ground until Christmas,


Jozsef Varadi


saying: “We don’t want to overstimulate the network with excess capacity immediately.” The grounded aircraft will be


in addition to the 41 Wizz aircraft grounded at the end of June due to problems with their Pratt & Whitney GTF engines – only five fewer than a year ago. Varadi noted: “We’re receiving compensation from Pratt & Whitney, but it won’t cover the cost.” He attributed the problems to


operating a significant schedule to “hot and harsh” environments and said Wizz would now focus on “more


comfortable environments”. Varadi said: “There were


three issues in Abu Dhabi – faster engine degradation due to the environmental conditions, geopolitical disruption and a changing regulatory climate with no access to the key markets. We were locked out of the markets to India, the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia.” He added: “We’ll operate a more


limited [schedule to] ‘hot and harsh’ [destinations]. “We remain upbeat about


opportunities in the UK market [where] our target markets are to North Africa.” Wizz reported a near 11% rise in


passenger numbers year on year to 17 million in the three months to June, with revenue up 13% to €1.4 billion and a rise in profit from €1 million the previous year to €38 million. However, Varadi conceded Wizz


had underperformed “compared to the market and to other airlines”.


Ryanair doubles quarterly profit as carryings rise 4%


Ryanair reported soaring profits for the three months to June but noted continuing delays to Boeing aircraft deliveries would restrict its full-year growth to 3%. Chief executive Michael


O’Leary warned aviation “remains heavily exposed to tariff wars, macroeconomic shocks, conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine, and


62 31 JULY 2025


European air traffic control strikes, mismanagement and short-staffing”. He noted profits this summer


remained “heavily dependent” on late August and September bookings but said: “We expect to recover almost all of last year’s 7% full-year fare decline.” Ryanair reported profits for


the quarter doubled year on year to €820 million, with a 4% rise in carryings to 60 million and a 4%


increase in revenue to €4.34 billion. Q Heathrow reported handling record passenger numbers close to 40 million in the half year to June amid “strong demand” for Asia-


Ryanair forecasts 3% full-year growth


Pacific and the Middle East and “healthy” transatlantic traffic. The airport’s revenue rose


almost 2% to £1.7 billion, but pre- tax profits fell 37% on the previous year to £203 million. Heathrow confirmed it would submit a third runway proposal by July 31.


travelweekly.co.uk


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