Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán traveled to Washington on November 6 aboard a Wizz Air Airbus A321XLR for his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, reports Aerospace Global News.
Although the Hungarian government usually relies on its two Dassault Falcon 7X business jets, the size of Orbán’s delegation — which included government officials, executives from major companies, journalists, and representatives of research institutions — required a larger aircraft. For this trip, the delegation used Wizz Air’s newest Airbus A321XLR, registered G-XLRD, delivered just three weeks earlier.
The aircraft departed Budapest at 08:34 local time on November 6 as flight W99001 and landed in Reykjavik at 11:31 for refueling. After a short stop, it continued to Washington Dulles International Airport as flight W99002, taking off at 13:08 and landing at 14:12 local time.
Although the Airbus A321XLR has a published range of 4,700 nautical miles, the Budapest–Washington route — approximately 4,000 nautical miles — required a technical stop due to strong westerly headwinds over the Atlantic, the aircraft’s heavy payload, and the need for sufficient fuel reserves. The refueling stop in Iceland was therefore a precautionary measure.
Orbán’s delegation stayed in the United States for two days, returning to Europe on November 8. The return trip also included a stop in Reykjavik: the aircraft landed at Keflavík Airport as flight WUK9003 from Washington at 19:12 local time, before continuing to Budapest (flight WUK9004) with a scheduled departure at 20:45 and arrival at 01:43.
Wizz Air has so far taken delivery of five A321XLR aircraft — three registered in the United Kingdom and two in Malta. Although it is the world’s longest-range single-aisle airliner, Wizz Air currently has no plans to operate scheduled services to North America.
