Wizz Air receives serious fine in Hungary for unfair commercial practice

This is not the Hungarian low-cost airline’s best week. We wrote earlier that their shares began to drop on the London stock market after its management cut back its profit expectations. Now, the Hungarian Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) fined Wizz Air for conducting unfair commercial practices while trying to sell their passengers expensive services.

Serious fine for Wizz Air – GVH could not be convinced

According to portfolio.hu, GVH fined Wizz Air because they provided misleading information to their passengers concerning automatic check-in. Furthermore, they hid that some extra services—like Wizz Priority or checked-in baggage—could be bought separately. That means the company intentionally directed its passengers to more expensive packages.

The GVH began the relevant process against the airline in 2023 and monitored the interval between November 2018 and May 2024. The GVH fine reaches HUF 307.8 million (EUR 771 thousand).

Wizz Air 20th anniversary jet. Bad news coming? Source: Wizz Air

During the process, Wizz committed to carrying out IT developments and passenger compensation. However, the GVH did not accept that and imposed the fine.

The reaction of Wizz Air

Csaba Balázs Rigó, President of the GVH, said that transparent and available communication is crucial in air traffic, especially when delays and cancellations happen frequently. He also highlighted the importance of protecting passengers.

Index.hu shared the reaction of the Hungarian airline. Wizz wrote about an unfounded GVH resolution which doesn’t serve the passengers’ interests. They highlighted that they cooperated with the GVH during the process. Wizz claimed their booking process was transparent and understandable, serving passengers’ interests.

The Hungarian airline carried out modifications even during the process, so they questioned the rightfulness of the fine, refused to agree with its explanation and promised to take legal action. They said they would have compensated the passengers affected, but GVH did not accept that.

Photo: FB/Wizz Air

Wizz Air also said they prepared for the summer season with developments for EUR 100 million, suggesting they were not responsible for the many delays and cancellations disturbing the holidays. In their statement, they blamed the Hungarian and the European air traffic control companies for the problems.

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