Chaos: Wizz Air flights in brutal delays, many passengers missed Cyprus plane!

The waiting time for the Budapest-Catania flight from Budapest to Catania exceeded two days. In another case, the plane to Cyprus took off with a 6-hour-long delay. However, in the latter case, many passengers missed the flight due to lack of information.

Wizz Air flight to and from Catania in days-long delays

According to Utazómajom, a Hungarian travel news outlet, Wizz Air’s W6 2353 flight should have left Catania in Sicily at 6.25 PM on 1 July. First, the airline modified that to 10.00 PM and checked the passengers in. Later it became clear that the plane would not depart, so they got a HUF 10,000 (EUR 25.32) voucher.

The next departure time was 8 AM the next day, modified to 7.30 PM and then 11.20 PM. Utazómajom’s reader bought her ticket via a travel agency.

The delay of the twin from Catania was similar. Finally, the flight was cancelled. However, the situation of the passengers in Sicily was much worse than in Budapest. There were so many people that they could not get fresh air or find a seat.

Wizz Air CEO József Váradi. Photo: FB/Budflyer

The airline could find accommodation only at 3 AM. In the morning, they had to leave the hotel and continue to wait for their delayed flight on Tuesday. Based on the passengers, Wizz Air did not share any detailed information, only notifications of the delays. There were 200 passengers waiting for the flight, some of them spending the night at the airport, children and older people included.

Finally, the flight to Catania took off at 3.27 AM today and landed at 5.20 AM in Budapest. The delay was two days.

Air traffic controllers, engine problems

Wizz Air said the multiple delays were not their fault but the result of the labour shortage of the traffic controllers. We detailed that in THIS article. Utazómajom said the airline launched multiple new flights yesterday to Yerevan (Armenia), Bucharest and Brassó (Brasov), and they hope the delays will not become more frequent because of that.

Moreover, they must tackle the problems of the Pratt & Whitney engines because of which lots of their planes are grounded, and they must wet-lease aircraft. Even so, the President of the airline remained confident about future prospects. We wrote about that HERE.

Photo: FB/Wizz Air

Passengers missed the Larnaca flight after a huge delay

The take off-time of the flight was 4.15 PM on Monday, but the airline informed the passengers that their flight would depart with a one-hour delay. However, the check-in date did not change. As a result, passengers waited inside for the plane to depart but nothing happened.

Due to the weather conditions, the aircraft remained on the ground, but they got a HUF 3,000 (EUR 7.60) voucher only 13 minutes before the only place they could have used it closed, Utazómajom wrote based on the report of a passenger.

Boarding a Wizz Air plane at Budapest Airport. Always prepare for delays? Photo: FB/Wizz Air

The airline communicated that the plane would depart at 11.10 PM, so the passengers went to buy some food and drinks while they waited. However, at 9.30 PM, the departure time was changed to 9.50 PM unexpectedly on the information board. At the information desk, they said there should be a mistake. However, that was no mistake. The plane left at 9.50 PM, and many passengers remained at Budapest Airport while eating the sandwiches they bought.

The plane took off at 10.10 PM, and since Wizz Air did not send emails or messages to the passengers, many missed it. They believed that their flight would only depart at 11.10 PM, as previously announced.

According to Wizz Air’s reply, nine passengers missed the plane and did not show up despite multiple warnings via the loudspeaker.

Airlines must fully reimburse passengers if a flight is cancelled or allow the possibility of a rebooking on the next available flight, the Metropolitan Government Office said in a statement on Tuesday.

Read also:

• New Wizz Air flight connects Budapest with city close to Dracula’s castle – Read more HERE
• New Wizz air flight: another European capital now accessible from Budapest – Details in THIS article