European LCCs Ryanair and Wizz Air will both open bases at Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE), basing a combined five aircraft at the airport to support of a host of new routes.

Ryanair will allocate three Boeing 737 MAX 8200 to VCE, while Wizz will place two Airbus A321neos at the airport. Ryanair already bases two aircraft at secondary airport Venice Treviso (TSF).

New Ryanair routes to be launched from VCE next summer include: Comiso (CIY) in Sicily; Crotone (CIY) in Italy; Lisbon (LIS); Madrid (MAD); Marseille (MRS) in France; Stockholm (ARN); Vienna (VIE); Gdansk (GDN) in Poland; Cork (ORK) in Ireland; Helsinki (HEL); Santander (SDR) in Spain; Odessa (ODS) in Ukraine; Toulouse (TLS) in France; Katowice (KTW) in Poland; Nuremberg (NUE) in Germany; and Menorca (MAG) in Spain. Additionally, the carrier will move TSF flights to Italian cities Cagliari (CAG) and Trapani (TPS) over to VCE.

All routes will be operated at least 2X-weekly.

“As Ryanair takes delivery of 55 new [737 MAX 8200] aircraft this winter, we are delighted to announce that three of these will be based in Venice Marco Polo for Summer 2022, which represents a $300 million investment in Venice Marco Polo Airport,” Ryanair director of commercial Jason McGuinness said. “These new aircraft will deliver a total of 24 destinations, including 18 new connections and 100 new jobs in an environmentally sustainable manner.”

He added that the Italian Government should “scrap the municipal tax for all Italian airports, which is damaging the competitiveness of Italian airports versus their European counterparts. The axing of this tax would facilitate a rapid recovery in Italian air traffic and jobs thanks to Ryanair’s low fares and long-term growth plan.”

Meanwhile, Wizz will fly from VCE to: CAG, Lamezia Terme (SUF), Lampedusa (LMP) and Naples (NAP) in Italy; Casablanca (CMN); Reykjavik (RKV); Mykonos (JMK) and Santorini (JTR) in Greece; Fuerteventura (FUE), Palma de Mallorca (PMI) and Tenerife (TFN) in Spain; Tallinn (TLL) in Estonia; London Luton (LTN); Tel Aviv (TLV); Prague (PRG); and Sharm el Sheikh (SSG) in Egypt.

“Wizz Air’s extensive Venice network will support local tourism, bring more capital to the region, and connect Venice with three new and exciting currently unserved destinations … [comprising] Reykjavik, Tallinn and Fuerteventura,” Wizz said in a statement.

Wizz Air Group president Robert Carey President added: “This is another important milestone for Wizz as well as for our passengers in the region. With our 16 new services to nine countries, which builds on our existing 10 services to seven countries, we are demonstrating our continued commitment to Italy as we grow both our domestic and international Italian network.”

Photo credit: Getty Images/Danny Lehman