Hungarian discount carrier Wizz Air is laying the groundwork for potential flights to the U.S. during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Late last week the airline filed a request with the U.S. Department of Transportation to begin flights between the U.S. and U.K. The petition was submitted by Wizz’s U.K. subsidiary, and aims to start service “as soon as possible.”
The filing set off speculation that Wizz was looking to enter the U.S. market with regular scheduled service. On Thursday, however, Wizz CFO Ian Malin clarified that scheduled service to the U.S. is not in the cards, and that the filing was merely a procedural step in arranging potential charter flights to North America during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Malin’s comments were reported by Skift.
The World Cup will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Several airlines have already announced special flights to and from the host cities to accommodate increased demand.
Wizz operates mainly within Europe but also offers flights to North Africa and the Middle East. Plans to expand in the Middle East were curtailed last year when the carrier shut down its Emirati subsidiary, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi.
Some aviation industry commentators have speculated that, following its retreat from the Middle East, Wizz will turn toward North America and transatlantic service, though no new routes have been announced.
