Wizz Air passengers may get refunds as claims reopened

Rejected passenger claims against Wizz Air will be re-examined after an "unprecedented" intervention by the UK's aviation regulator.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is taking action following concerns the airline has not been paying passengers what they were owed for cancelled or delayed flights.

The action could lead to claims over the past six years being reopened.

Wizz Air said significant improvements had already been made.

The regulator highlighted passenger frustrations about not being provided with alternative flight options when theirs was cancelled, which is a legal obligation.

Wizz Air has committed to look again at claims for replacement flight costs, transfers when replacement flights were via different airports, and care such as hotel costs.

"We made it clear to Wizz Air last year that the way it was treating passengers was unacceptable," Paul Smith, the CAA's joint-interim chief said.

Under the action, Wizz Air will have to look again at rejected claims for flights to or from the UK from 18 March 2022 onwards. Passengers do not need to take any action for these claims to be reviewed.

Passengers with flights up to six years ago can also ask the airline to reopen their cases.

It is understood up to 10,000 people could have their claims revisited.

What are my rights if my flight is cancelled?

Passengers have a number of rights under UK law if they are:

• flying from a UK airport

• arriving at a UK airport on an EU or UK airline

• arriving at an EU airport on a UK airline

Airlines must offer the choice of a refund or alternative flight, regardless of how far in advance the cancellation was made.

Return tickets must be fully refunded if either leg is cancelled.

And passengers have a right to be booked on another airline - or other suitable mode of transport - if it is going to their destination significantly sooner.

Read more here

Wizz Air said it had introduced an automated refund process to deal with passenger claims.

"We know that we need to rebuild trust, and we want to show our customers how serious we are about making improvements for the future," Wizz Air UK managing director Marion Geoffroy said.

The consumer group Which? said the CAA should take the airline to court if it did not fulfil legal requirements.

"Wizz Air has an abysmal record on meeting its legal obligations under consumer law, racking up millions of pounds in county court judgements after continually failing to appropriately reroute passengers," its travel editor, Rory Boland, said.

Wizz Air has been the worst major airline for flight delays from UK airports for two years in a row. The company said it had improved punctuality in 2023.