Pilots have reacted with fury after Wizz Air chief executive József Váradi suggested too many crew members were refusing to fly when fatigued. In an internal briefing, Váradi told staff: 'We are all fatigued but sometimes it is required to take the extra mile.' The comments come amid widespread disruption across the aviation industry, with staff shortages at airlines, airports and air traffic control causing chaos.
Váradi added: 'I understand that fatigue is a potential outcome of the issues, but once we are starting stabilising the rosters, we also need to take down the fatigue rate. I mean, we cannot run this business when every fifth person of a base reports sickness because the person is fatigued.' He warned that cancellations were causing 'reputational damage' and 'financial damage' due to compensation payouts.
The general secretary of the Balpa pilots union, Martin Chalk, criticised the remarks, saying: 'Even a basic safety culture would include a CEO who knew to support and praise pilots who do the right thing and not operate when they suspect they might be fatigued.' He urged Váradi to clarify that he would support any pilot responsible enough not to fly when suffering from fatigue.
The European Cockpit Association compared encouraging fatigued crew to fly to 'handing the car keys to a drunk driver' and called on the aviation regulator, Easa, to take action. Maximum working hours for pilots and cabin crew are regulated, and no crew member is supposed to fly if they believe they could endanger safety due to tiredness.
A Wizz Air spokesperson defended Váradi, stating his remarks were edited from a 15-minute address and that crew unavailability was low at 4%. They added: 'What this does not mean is compromising safety. Safety has, and always will be, our first priority.' Wizz Air has cancelled several flights amid industry disruption and warned it could not guide on expected profits, leading to a 10% share price fall.
