ABU DHABI — Wizz Air and Abu Dhabi Airports celebrated the arrival of Wizz Air’s first scheduled Wizz Air Hungary flight to Abu Dhabi International Airport. Marking a great milestone in Wizz Air’s history and further strengthening of Abu Dhabi’s connectivity and accessibility as a destination of choice for business and leisure travel, the first Budapest-Abu Dhabi flight landed in the capital of the United Arab Emirates on July 1, 2020. The inaugural Wizz Air route from Bucharest will be followed in September by flights from Sofia, Katowice and Cluj-Napoca. With these services, Wizz Air will connect these exciting European cities with Abu Dhabi and will provide countless opportunities for travelers to visit the exciting Emirate of Abu Dhabi and discover its rich array of cultural, historic, culinary and entertainment-oriented tourist attractions. George Michalopoulos, chief commercial officer of Wizz Air, said: “I am delighted to celebrate the first scheduled Wizz Air flight to Abu Dhabi. Wizz Air is committed to growing the airline’s network to the capital of the United Arab Emirates. “Our new sanitizing protocols will give our customers the confidence that they can safely rely on Wizz Air’s ultra-low fares to visit Abu Dhabi on board one of the world’s greenest fleet. Wizz Air’s ultra-low fares and route network will contribute to the further growth of Abu Dhabi’s tourism sector.” Khalil Lamrabet, senior vice president of aviation development at Abu Dhabi Airports, said: “We are pleased to welcome Wizz Air’s first flight to the UAE’s capital at Abu Dhabi International Airport. The arrival of Wizz Air is a testament to the strength of the Abu Dhabi market and a reflection of the success of our investments in transforming Abu Dhabi International Airport into a strategically positioned global hub for airlines from across the world.” “Abu Dhabi Airports has implemented comprehensive health and safety measures across its facilities and is committed to ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of all passengers and employees. “As commercial flights resume and the international aviation industry continues to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, we are looking forward to introducing visitors to everything the UAE’s capital and the surrounding Emirate of Abu Dhabi have to offer,” added Lamrabet. The celebration coincides with a new dawn of intensified sanitization measures, which have recently begun at Wizz Air. The airline introduced a range of enhanced hygiene measures, to ensure the health and safety of its passengers and crew. As part of these new protocols, throughout the flight, both cabin crew and passengers are required to wear facemasks, with cabin crew also required to wear gloves. Wizz Air’s aircraft are regularly put through an industry-leading disinfection process with an antiviral solution and, following WIZZ’s stringent daily cleaning schedule, all of the airline’s aircraft are further disinfected overnight with the same antiviral solution. Sanitizing wipes are handed to each passenger upon entering the aircraft, onboard magazines have been removed from the aircraft, and any onboard purchases are encouraged to be made by contactless payment. Passengers are requested to follow physical distancing measures introduced by the local health authorities and are encouraged to make all purchases prior to the flight online (e.g. checked in luggage, WIZZ Priority, fast security track), to minimize any possible physical contact at the airport. Abu Dhabi Airports recently announced the introduction of Wellness Ambassadors at Abu Dhabi International Airport. The team of specially trained service professionals support passengers by answering common questions relating to keeping healthy during travel, encourage social distancing amongst travellers, monitor the regular sanitization of surfaces, communicate testing and isolation procedures, and providing hand sanitizer and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks and gloves to passengers. The introduction of the Wellness Ambassadors follows the recent introduction of touch-less elevator technology at the airport as well SterixGates sterilisation booths designed to safely disinfect a person within as little as three seconds. Other new technologies and precautionary measures deployed at the airport include thermal scanning cameras that incorporate the latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, as well cameras with facial recognition capabilities and heat motion sensors. — SG