Wizz Air explains why its plane held for nearly an hour before landing in Budapest

A Wizz Air passenger aircraft spent nearly an hour circling above Lake Velence and its surrounding area early Monday afternoon before continuing on to Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport.

Flight Diverts While Approaching Hungary

The aircraft, an Airbus A321neo operated by Wizz Air Malta, departed from Turkey and entered Hungarian airspace from Slovenia. According to flight tracking data, the plane approached Hungary from the direction of Lake Balaton and reached the Lake Velence area at around 2:30 pm.

Instead of continuing directly to Budapest, the aircraft turned back and began holding patterns over the area between Székesfehérvár and Pusztaszabolcs. The plane reportedly completed seven to eight loops before receiving clearance to proceed to the airport.

Why aircraft circle before landing

According to the aviation-focused Facebook page Tudásmorzsák a repülésről, the airspace above Lake Velence is regularly used by airlines when aircraft need to reduce weight before landing. By remaining airborne, planes can safely burn fuel to reach the maximum permitted landing weight.

Such holding patterns are typically linked to non-critical technical issues that do not pose immediate danger to passengers or the aircraft but may require maintenance that cannot easily be performed at the destination airport.

In these cases, airlines often choose to divert to a larger base airport where maintenance facilities and replacement aircraft are available, ensuring minimal disruption to operations.

If you missed this important news:

Huge changes to European travel on the way: Stricter controls and new visa rules approaching

Wizz Air confirms minor technical issue

Wizz Air later confirmed that the diversion was caused by a minor technical issue. In a statement provided to the Hungarian press, the airline said the crew of the Bucharest Otopeni–Tenerife flight detected a small technical fault during the journey.

Although the issue was resolved on board, the crew decided, as a precautionary measure, to divert to Budapest and wait in the Lake Velence area for landing clearance.

Safe landing and passenger Transfer

The airline emphasised that the aircraft landed safely at Budapest’s international airport. Passengers were subsequently transferred to another Wizz Air aircraft, allowing them to continue their journey to Tenerife with minimal delay.

Wizz Air stressed that passenger safety was never compromised and that precautionary diversions of this type are standard practice in commercial aviation.

As we wrote today, Wizz Air buys its Budapest office building