Gib hotels ‘at full capacity’ as Wizz Air cancels August flights

Wizz Air has cancelled all Gibraltar flights to Luton this August in a bid to meet higher demand in other European countries, but the Minister for Tourism has played down the development stating
“Gibraltar is already full.”
Vijay Daryanani said Gibraltar is turning business away due to a surge in tourism.
Gibraltar’s place in the ‘Green’ travel list has seen tourists flock to the Rock, resulting in packed hotels, bars and restaurants.
With Gibraltar to capacity, Mr Daryanani said the airline has decided to focus on other European destinations.
“We understand Wizz Air’s need to remain flexible to client demands,” Mr Daryanani said.
“These are constantly changing as a result of the uncertainty in respect of changes in rules relating to travel from and to the UK.”
“This has resulted in the opening up of new destinations after the recent announcement that people returning to the UK from amber countries will not have to quarantine.”
“As a result, Wizz have scheduled flights to other European markets for which they are seeing the strongest demand.”
“This is no surprise, as all airlines are making last minute changes to their schedules as Governments constantly announce different requirements.”
“Having said this, Gibraltar is already full. All our hotels are already full for the season, our restaurants are experiencing huge demand and we are seeing a regular flow of tourists from the UK.”
“We have reached a point that we are turning business away.”
“This is an unprecedented situation for Gibraltar to be in. I will continue working with Wizz Air and all other airlines to maintain capacity to Gibraltar. I look forward to the return of their flights in September.”
In response to the cancelled flights, Wizz Air told the Chronicle that this is normal practice and customers who booked August flights will be reimbursed.
“As is normal practice in the aviation industry, routes can sometimes change according to travel seasons and demand,” a spokesman for Wizz Air told the Chronicle.
“Unfortunately for these reasons, Wizz Air confirms it has had to suspend its route from LTN-GIB until September.”
“If Wizz Air cancels a flight, passengers will be informed via e-mail and automatically refunded 120% of the original fare in airline credit.”
“Passengers can also opt for a 100% cash refund to their original payment method or the chance to rebook for free.”
The spokesman added that Wizz Air hopes to restart the LTN-GIB route in September, depending on demand.