A passenger travelling from Budapest to Crete reportedly changed his mind about flying just before boarding, changed it back moments later, and then decided mid-flight that he wanted to return to Budapest immediately. What happened next sounds too bizarre to be true, but Wizz Air has confirmed the story.
From Budapest to Crete and back again
According to 444.hu, the extraordinary story was shared in the Hungarian Facebook group Wizz Air, Ryanair és egyéb fapados károsultak (“Wizz Air, Ryanair and other low-cost airline victims”) by a passenger who had booked a flight from Budapest to Heraklion on 25 August.
Everything appeared to be going smoothly until boarding. As he was about to board the aircraft, the man suddenly became unsure whether he actually wanted to travel. He walked out onto the apron, waited while the other passengers boarded and eventually sat down on a set of steps.
A member of the ground staff approached him and tried to reassure him, but the passenger ultimately decided not to travel. He was escorted back to the gate, where staff removed his name from the passenger list.
Then, while walking back through the terminal, he changed his mind again. He reportedly got as far as the piano when he suddenly decided that he did want to go to Crete after all. He ran back to the gate and asked to board.
There was a problem: he had already been removed from the passenger list. Staff explained that they needed special permission from the captain before he could return to the aircraft. After some coordination, permission was granted, and a ground staff member escorted him back to the plane.
Then he wanted to come straight home
You might think that was the end of the story, but it wasn’t. During the flight to Heraklion, the passenger apparently reconsidered the purpose of his trip and decided that he no longer wanted to stay in Crete. Instead, he wanted to fly straight back to Budapest on the very same aircraft.
There was just one small problem: he had no ticket for the return flight. He had no booking, no boarding pass and, according to his account, no return ticket for any other day either.
He approached the senior cabin crew member and explained his unusual request. The crew member told him they would try to help, but that the situation would require coordination with the airline, the captain and the ground staff in Heraklion. The passenger was moved to the first row while the crew worked on a solution.
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Wizz Air arranged a free return
When the aircraft landed in Heraklion, the passenger did not leave the plane. Instead, he waited on board while the other passengers disembarked and the aircraft was prepared for its return flight to Budapest. Around ten minutes later, a member of the ground-handling team arrived carrying something rather unexpected: a boarding pass for the passenger’s return flight to Budapest.
He did not have to leave the aircraft, go through security again or purchase a ticket. And, most remarkably, he did not have to pay for the return journey.
The passenger said he was subsequently able to remain on the same aircraft and even speak briefly with the captain before the Budapest-bound passengers boarded.
“Surely this must be made up?”
The story was so extraordinary that even 444.hu’s journalist who reported it initially assumed it was a hoax. The passenger’s account appeared almost too perfect: an indecisive traveller who repeatedly changed his mind, managed to board after being removed from the passenger list, then convinced the airline to let him fly back to Budapest for free without having a return ticket.
There was even speculation that the story could be some kind of Wizz Air PR stunt, but then the airline’s communications agency responded.
Wizz Air confirmed that the airline really did arrange the passenger’s ticket home.
The passenger also praised the crew for their patience and helpfulness throughout the bizarre ordeal, saying that staff never made him feel like he was causing a problem or behaving foolishly. He acknowledged that the situation was highly unusual and that the airline was under no obligation to go to such lengths to help him.
Have you got a similarly out-of-the-ordinary story about Wizz Air, Ryanair or any other low-cost airline? Share it with us!
