Britain’s aviation regulator has condemned budget carrier Wizz Air for “unacceptable” treatment of customers such as failing to pay money owed to inconvenienced passengers.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued an unprecedented statement raising “significant concerns” over the Hungary-based airline, saying a large number of County Court Judgments made against it remain unpaid.
The number of escalated complaints against the carrier is “far higher than those seen for other airlines”, said Anna Bowles, head of consumer policy at the authority.
Wizz Air operates no-frills short-haul flights from Luton, Gatwick and other airports including Cardiff and Edinburgh.
Escalated complaints refer to those taken to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) schemes because the airline has failed to satisfy customers with its original response.
Some 811 grievances per million Wizz Air passengers on UK flights were brought to independent bodies between July and September. That is far higher than easyJet (245), Ryanair (235) and British Airways (166).
"Passengers have every right to expect their complaints and claims to be resolved quickly and efficiently and to be treated fairly by airlines,” said Ms Bowles.
“The volume of complaints and claims received by alternative dispute ADR in respect of Wizz Air is far higher than those seen for other airlines. This, alongside the delays in processing and paying claims and the large number of County Court Judgements made against Wizz Air, has raised significant concerns for the CAA.
“We have made it clear to Wizz Air that its behaviour is unacceptable and that we expect overdue complaints and claims to be resolved in advance of Christmas.”
Analysis by the PA news agency published in August also found that it was the worst airline for flight delays from UK airports last year. The carrier’s UK departures were an average of 14 minutes and 24 seconds behind schedule in 2021.
Wizz Air said in a statement: “We are deeply sorry for the inconvenience we have caused our customers and we are working hard to put things right and resolve all outstanding claims as quickly as possible.
“The major disruption we navigated last summer meant that we have been dealing with an unprecedented number of claims. Despite this, 91 per cent of claims have already been processed.
“We have recently doubled the size of our customer services team and are working continuously to process all outstanding customer claims, Alternative Dispute Resolution claims and settle all County Court Judgements.
“Customers seeking to settle outstanding County Court Judgements can do so through the chatbot on the Wizz Air website, by selecting the relevant option from the Help & Support menu. Once the required steps have been completed, a customer service agent will be in touch directly to arrange payment.”
