Actually, the Irish manager Diarmuid Ó Conghaile was intended as the new head of the Irish Civil Aviation Authority IAA. But he has changed his mind and is leaving office at the end of October 2022 to take over the management of the new airline Wizz Air Malta on November 1, 2022.

The former Ryanair executive doesn't really need to settle down on the Maltese Islands, having previously served as chief executive of an airline in the island nation. Immediately before moving to the Irish Civil Aviation Authority, Ó Conghaile was Chief Executive Officer of Malta Air. His successor at the latter Ryanair subsidiary is David O'Brien, who also heads Lauda Europe at the same time.

At the IAA, the decision of the future Wizz Air Manager seems to come as a surprise, because Diarmuid Ó Conghaile was already the designated head of the authority. Now the Ministry of Transport has to look after a successor for the successor. At the same time, he should be doing Ryanair a visual favor in a way, because his appointment as the future head of the IAA was treated critically in the local media due to the fact that he previously worked for the low-cost group.

Wizz Air Malta is a start-up that the pink low-cost airline wants to run alongside the existing Wizz Air Hungary, according to President Robert Carey. It is still unclear which base the Maltese aviation company will operate in the future. “We are delighted to welcome Diarmuid to Wizz Air in this newly created position. We look forward to benefiting from his industry experience and leadership skills. His role as Managing Director of Wizz Air Malta will be instrumental in achieving our next phase of growth in the years to come,” said CEO József Váradi.

The Wizz Air Group currently has three approved flight operations. These are based in Budapest (Wizz Air Hungary), Abu Dhabi (Wizz Air Abu Dhabi) and Luton (Wizz Air UK). The launch of offshoots with certificates in Malta and Saudi Arabia is currently being prepared. Similar to the existing Hungarian airline, the Maltese company will also fly under an EASA AOC.

“I am delighted to join the Wizz Air team in the role of Managing Director of the new Wizz Air Malta and I look forward to building the network, operations and supporting Wizz Air's further strategic business plans. Wizz is a major player in European aviation with a compelling strategy for the future,” said future Wizz Air Malta CEO Diarmuid Ó Conghaile.