The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched enforcement action against Wizz Air following a surge of complaints about the budget airline's failure to pay passengers compensation and refunds, particularly after flight cancellations. The regulator described the carrier's treatment of passengers over the past year as "unacceptable".
Paul Smith, joint interim chief executive of the CAA, stated that airlines must meet their obligations when flights are delayed or cancelled, and that the regulator would not hesitate to intervene if airlines consistently fail to do so. The CAA had been in contact with Wizz Air for several months due to the high volume of complaints.
Wizz Air has engaged with the regulator and agreed to revise its policies, procedures, and passenger communications. It will reconsider claims for replacement flight costs, transfers when replacement flights used different airports, and hotel costs. The CAA said this would ensure that passengers whose claims were incorrectly rejected receive the money they are legally owed.
The enforcement action covers claims for flights to or from a UK airport on or after 18 March 2022, with automatic review of cases. Passengers with claims outside that period can request a reopening as long as the flight was no more than six years ago. The CAA took similar action against Ryanair in 2022.
Which? Travel editor Rory Boland criticised Wizz Air's "abysmal" record, noting millions in county court judgments after the airline failed to reroute passengers appropriately and refused reimbursement. Wizz Air UK managing director Marion Geoffroy acknowledged unprecedented operating challenges in 2022 and said the airline had taken steps to improve its operation.
