Wizz Air refutes: no planes lost in Ukraine, aircraft still intact

Following an Italian article, it has been reported that Wizz Air has lost two of its planes in Ukraine for good. However, the airline has now sent a detailed rebuttal to a Hungarian news portal and clarified the situation.

The aircraft stuck in Ukraine are still intact and in good condition, Wizz Air told Világgazdaság. A week ago, Daily News Hungary reported on an interview the airline’s CEO gave to the online edition of the Italian daily Corriere della Sera. In it, József Váradi was asked about the situation of four of their aircraft, which have been stranded in Ukraine for about a year and a half due to the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Italian daily: Wizz aircraft “lost forever”, Wizz Air refutes

The Italian daily originally quoted Mr Váradi as saying that one plane in Lviv had been rescued, but two of the other three were “lost forever”, with only their engines being sent to Poland. It was also reported that the fourth plane is in good condition but cannot yet be safely evacuated from the country.

As Világgazdaság reports, since then, Corriere della Sera has subsequently amended the article. It has changed the wording of József Váradi’s answer to the question. Now, it reads that the plane from Lviv has been rescued, the engines of two others have been transferred to Poland and the fourth plane is in good condition but cannot yet be safely evacuated.

So the comment that two planes were “lost forever” is no longer in the Italian daily. It does not give the reason for this, but Wizz Air has given Világgazdaság a clear explanation.

Wizz Air’s explanation

They wrote that it is false information that Wizz Air has lost its passenger planes, as they are still intact and in good condition.

It has already been confirmed that the one in Lviv has been rescued from the four Airbus A320s of Wizz Air trapped in Ukraine. In fact, it is being put back into service following a full overhaul. It was also revealed that two of the three planes in Kyiv not only had their engines salvaged, but these were also fitted to operating aircraft by the airline.

Finally, the carrier also told Világgazdaság that it is ready to put the three aircraft still on Ukrainian territory back into service as soon as it has the opportunity

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