Wizz Air to base two aircraft in Valencia as wide-ranging Spain expansion starts in November

Seven new Valencia routes, a parallel Madrid base and additional services across Spain will reshape the airline’s winter network, with more than 80 locally based crew roles planned in Valencia.

Wizz Air will open an operational base at Valencia Airport on 2 November 2026 with two based aircraft and seven new routes.

(NEWS) VALENCIA, Valencia, Spain, 2026-Aug-31 — /Travel PR News/ — Wizz Air is preparing one of its most substantial expansions in Spain to date, with Valencia set to become an operational base from 2 November 2026 and Madrid following a day later. The move will put aircraft and locally based crews at both airports, allowing the airline to build a much larger mix of domestic and international services around Spain.

The Valencia operation will begin with two based aircraft and seven new routes. Five are domestic — Santiago de Compostela, Asturias, Santander, Palma de Mallorca and Bilbao — while Brașov in Romania and Naples in Italy provide the two new international links. The airline says more than 80 pilots and cabin crew will be recruited locally to support the base.

The Valencia opening forms part of the broader Spain expansion announced by Wizz Air, which confirms that Madrid will also become a base on 3 November. Across the two airports, Wizz Air plans to station four aircraft and recruit more than 150 locally based pilots and cabin crew.

Valencia gets seven new routes

Wizz Air’s Valencia schedule gives the new base a strong domestic focus, with several routes connecting Spain’s east coast directly with northern and island destinations. Santiago de Compostela and Asturias are due to start on 2 November, Santander follows on 3 November, while Palma de Mallorca, Bilbao and Naples are scheduled for 14 December. The airline’s supplied timetable lists the Brașov service from 2 November.

The new flying is accompanied by a substantial increase on Valencia–Milan Malpensa, which Wizz Air says will rise from seven to 14 weekly flights from 2 November, effectively moving from daily to twice-daily service.

Silvia Mosquera, Wizz Air’s commercial officer, described Valencia as a long-term investment rather than simply a network addition, pointing to its tourism demand, economic activity and international profile. For travelers, the base structure also gives the airline more flexibility to schedule early departures, late returns and higher frequencies because aircraft and crews begin and end their working day locally.

Madrid base adds four routes and more frequency

Madrid is the second half of the base strategy. New services from the Spanish capital will connect Asturias, Palma de Mallorca, Santiago de Compostela and Pisa, with the majority beginning on 3 November.

Existing international links from Madrid will also grow. Wizz Air plans to double London Luton and Milan Malpensa from seven to 14 weekly flights and increase Rome Fiumicino from 14 to 21 weekly services from 3 November.

Expansion reaches airports beyond the two bases

The network plan is not confined to Valencia and Madrid. Seven additional routes are scheduled from other Spanish airports, widening Wizz Air’s footprint across the country as the winter season develops.

The scale of the programme means Wizz Air is moving beyond serving Spain primarily as a destination at the end of international routes. Basing aircraft in Valencia and Madrid gives it the operational structure to compete more directly for domestic traffic while also using Spain as an origin market for European city routes.

Jobs and package holidays form part of the wider push

Recruitment is another part of the investment. Wizz Air says more than 80 pilots and cabin crew will be locally based in Valencia, while the combined Madrid and Valencia expansion is expected to support more than 150 locally based flight crew positions. The airline has been running recruitment events in Spain, with vacancies and future events listed through its careers portal.

The growth also coincides with the rollout of WIZZ Holidays, the airline’s recently launched package-holiday platform. The service allows customers to combine Wizz Air flights with accommodation, airport transfers and multi-city itineraries, giving the carrier another way to capture spending around trips generated by its expanding network.

For Valencia, the key change begins on 2 November: aircraft will no longer simply arrive and depart as part of rotations based elsewhere in Europe. With two jets and crews stationed at the airport, the city becomes an operating centre in Wizz Air’s network — a structural change that gives the airline room to add frequencies and destinations if demand supports further growth.