CAA crackdown costs Wizz Air £1.24 million in compensation

Paul Smith, CAA consumer director, said: “While we welcome the steps taken by Wizz Air after falling short in its treatment of disrupted passengers, airlines should routinely look after passengers and uphold their rights when flights are delayed and cancelled.

 
“Passengers have every right to expect their claims to be resolved quickly, efficiently and in line with the regulations. These outcomes will now provide Wizz Air’s passengers with a better experience.”

Wizz Air said it had “fully complied” with the deed of undertaking signed with the CAA last year following the disruption. It added it had invested £90 million to improve its performance and operations in 2023, resulting in a flight completion rate of 99.24%.

“Furthermore, 90% of refunds are now processed within five days. The airline has also now identified and paid all known County Court Judgements,” it added.

’Unprecedented challenges’

Wizz Air UK managing director Marion Geoffroy said: “Like all airlines in Europe, we faced unprecedented operating challenges in the summer of 2022 but the improvements we put in place have led to a better customer experience and our performance in 2023 was among the strongest in the industry.” 
  
Actions taken including adding stand-by aircraft, increased staffing and building more time into crew rosters and between flights to make schedules more resilient. The refund process has now been automated and four new contact centres opened for customer service.

The CAA crackdown last summer came as Wizz Air’s UK-based chief executive Jozsef Varadi negotiated an extension to a potential £100 million bonus target. Varadi will receive the cash in 2028 if the airline’s share price, currently below £20, reaches £120.