Wizz Air customers to get compensation for flight disruptions

Wizz Air customers in the UK will soon get compensation, after the intervention of the industry regular over its handling of flight disruptions. 

In July, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) stepped in due to a surge in complaints about the airline failing to fulfill its payment obligations. The CAA instructed Wizz Air to reevaluate numerous denied claims for incurred expenses. The company has now been ordered to pay an additional £1.2 million by the regulator. 

Wizz Air confirmed its full cooperation with the regulator and implemented improvements. The airline reassessed 25,000 claims related to flights to or from the UK from March 18, 2022, onward. Out of these, 6,000 claims resulted in supplementary payments of varying amounts. 

These payments include expenses such as alternative flights, transfer costs, and accommodation and meal expenses for passengers who found themselves stranded. 

While not all claims were outright rejected, among the 6,000, some had previously received no compensation, while others who had received partial refunds saw their amounts augmented.

Headquartered in Hungary, Wizz Air specializes in low-cost short-haul flights within Europe. Wizz Air UK Managing Director Marion Geoffroy acknowledged the airline’s encounter with “unprecedented operating challenges” during the summer of 2022.

The summer holiday season of 2022 was labeled “air-mageddon” due to the industry’s struggle to return to normalcy after the pandemic. 

Travelers experienced prolonged queues, delays, and cancellations. Since then, Wizz Air has invested £90 million in operational improvements, introducing new schemes to minimize cancellations. These initiatives include the addition of spare aircraft capacity and increased staffing at airports and claim centers.

In a statement, Paul Smith, consumer director at the CAA, said that the regulator is pleased with the outcome, but the intervention shouldn’t have been necessary to begin with. 

He said, “While we welcome the steps taken by Wizz Air after falling short in its treatment of disrupted passengers, airlines should routinely look after passengers and uphold their rights when flights are delayed and cancelled.”