Wizz Air may have to pay out millions to passengers after UK airline regulators, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), initiated enforcement action against the Hungarian airline after receiving a high volume of complaints claiming that they have failed to compensate passengers accordingly for flight cancellations.
Paul Smith, the CAA’s chief executive, said they have informed Wizz Air that their passengers’ treatment over the past year was unacceptable and that airlines must meet their obligation regarding flight cancellations or delays, otherwise, the regulator would not hesitate to step in.
“Passengers have every right to expect their complaints and claims to be resolved quickly and efficiently and to be treated fairly by airlines, in line with regulations. We will continue to watch the situation closely to check that passengers receive what they are owed and that Wizz Air’s policies have improved so that consumers have a better experience if things go wrong,” he said.
In response to the CAA’s actions, Wizz Air has engaged with the regulator and has committed to changing its procedures, passenger communications, and policies. In addition, the airline has agreed to reassess claims for flight cost replacements, transfers to other airports, and covering hotel expenses.
The CAA also clarified that this action will apply to claims made for flights scheduled to leave from or arrive at a UK airport after 18th March 2022 and that cases from this period will be automatically checked.
Claims made before March 18th can also be reopened, but passengers must ensure those flights were no more than six years ago.
The CAA initiated a similar procedure against Ryanair last year, obliging them to compensate thousands of delayed passengers.
Wizz Air has faced ongoing criticism, being called the UK’s worst airline according to consumer body Which? Passengers have experienced being stranded due to flight cancellations and have also made complaints about being charged fees at the airport when they couldn’t check in due to technical issues with the airline’s website.
Data provided by the airline revealed that they carried 5.3 million passengers in June alone, while the total number of passengers recorded so far this year has almost reached 27 million, compared to 16 million passengers in the same period of 2022.
