Wizz Air

Too much criticism: Wizz Air will not fly to Moscow!

Budapest Airport Wizz Air travel bus

Wizz Air changed its plans again after meeting critical voices regarding their resuming flights to Moscow after they suspended them when the war broke out. For the time being, they will not fly to the Russian capital.

Wizz Air decided to relaunch their Russia-UAE flights earlier this month

As we reported before, Wizz Air announced that they will resume flights from the United Arab Emirates to Moscow in October. Now, things have changed again. Wizz Air has suspended plans to resume flights from the Russian capital Moscow to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates after mounting criticism of the decision to restart, Reuters reports.

Change of plans due to criticism

Wizz Air’s statement on Friday, in which it postponed flights until further notice, made no mention of the social media backlash, which included calls for a boycott of the airline, but referred only to “industry supply chain constraints”. On Twitter, the airline said in response to the criticisms that the flight would be operated by its Abu Dhabi-based company, which is a UAE-registered company operating under Gulf state rules, Portfolio.hu writes.

Wizz Air in Abu Dhabi

Wizz Air, listed on the London Stock Exchange, owns a 49% stake in Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, whose aircraft carry the European airline’s name and branding. The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ owns 51% of the low-cost airline.

Wizz Air said this month that it will resume flights between Abu Dhabi and Moscow in October, after suspending all its flights to Russia on 27 February following the invasion of Ukraine.

Several flights suspended this winter

As we reported before, Wizz Air is said to suspend 6 routes from its newly opened Sarajevo base in the winter. The cutbacks are believed to be a result of low demand. According to exyuaviation.com, Wizz Air discontinued ticket sales for flights from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital to Malmö, Gothenburg, Charleroi, Sandefjord, Treviso and Beauvais for the winter.

Passengers can book the last flights to Malmö on 2 October, to Gothenburg, Charleroi, and Sandefjord on 9 October, and to Treviso and Beauvais on 27 October this year. After autumn, these flights will depart from the nearby Tuzla airport.

adult in the rain city dark
Read alsoHeavy rain expected this weekend in Hungary, festive events in danger?

Wizz Air left its passengers boiling for half a day in 40 °C waiting room

Wizz Air

Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air’s Dortmund plane collided with a flock of birds. Passengers had to wait half a day for a replacement plane in the 40-degree passenger lounge.

Another delay

Rtl.hu received an outraged letter from a Wizz Air passenger during the day on Thursday. The woman, who asked not to be named, reported that the Hévíz-Dortmund flight was due to take off at 10.25 AM on 18 August, but for some technical reason, the flight did not take off and passengers waited for hours for the plane to depart, to no avail.

“It is currently 35 degrees in the terminal. We’ve had one drink coupon since this morning. Departure times change every two hours. Outrageous. The plane left two minutes ago without passengers,” the passenger wrote in an early afternoon letter.

Technical problem

On Friday, rtl.hu managed to speak to the writer of the letter on the phone, who gave more details about her unpleasant experiences at the airport. She said that, before the scheduled departure time, the waiting passengers were told that the flight would be delayed for two and a half hours due to a technical problem.

“They said that they had to call a mechanic from Budapest. He arrived three hours later, and shortly afterwards they said that the plane could not go any further. The plane finally flew away without passengers. At three in the afternoon, they were told that a replacement plane was expected from Poland. At six o’clock, there was still nothing.”

No information from anyone

According to the passenger, Wizz Air employees were not in control of the situation, no one was able to provide any help, and passengers only looked at the Wizz Air app for some information. In addition, the conditions at Hévíz airport were not much better than in a station lounge.

“Twice we got a €4 drink ticket from Wizz Air, and once we got some vegetables and rice from the airport staff.” It was about 40 degrees in the afternoon in the lounge. There were lots of people with babies and children. Some people gave up and went home. “A father was going to take his son to Dortmund for a football match, but after 3 hours they decided there was no chance of their getting there for the kick-off.”

Replacement plane came from Budapest

Finally a replacement plane came, and at 7:45 PM, about two-thirds full of passengers, it set off for Dortmund. “The pilot said that a bird flew into the engine of the plane in the morning which is why it malfunctioned. The replacement plane expected from Poland did not arrive because they could not contact it. So they were finally the ones who came from Budapest.”

After all this, the plane landed in Dortmund at 9.15 PM, writes rtl.hu. No compensation is due for the half-day stay in Hévíz because it was due to technical reasons beyond Wizz Air’s control, the dissatisfied passenger added. Wizz Air said that the delay was due to no fault of the airline and that they would like to apologise to all those affected by the inconvenience.

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Read alsoHeavy rain expected this weekend in Hungary, festive events in danger?

Wizz Air passengers wanted to get to Budapest but were left in Paris – again

Wizz Air

Once again, Wizz Air left its passengers in Paris. The passengers of the scheduled flight to Budapest at 9:30 p.m. received an e-mail at 9:36 p.m. that their plane would not depart for home until the next day at 12:40 p.m. 

158 people were waiting at the airport at night

The passengers of the Wizz Air flight Paris (ORY) – Budapest (BUD) W6 2368 received an email notification at 9:36 p.m. that their flight, scheduled to depart at 9:30 p.m., would only depart for home at 12:40 p.m. the next day. – reported spabook. 158 people had to wait at the airport in Paris at night. However, this is not the first time Wizz Air has caused inconvenience to its passengers. Last time, people were left stranded at Orly Airport because the flight from Paris to Budapest was cancelled. In addition, passengers could neither rebook nor cancel the flight.

Lack of information from Wizz Air?

After having received the email notification about the cancellation, passengers were asked to tell how many people they were requesting accommodation for. However, one of the passengers thought the email was incomplete. He and his family did not receive information about the flight cancellation. On the other hand, some passengers did receive an email notification stating that the plane was delayed.

Wizz Air plane
Read alsoAttention! Wizz Air suspends several flights in the winter

Passengers expect compensation

Although Wizz Air called the more than 15-hour difference in departure a delay, according to EU rules, this entitles the passengers to compensation equivalent to a cancellation. Spabook obtained the letter, which reveals that Wizz Air informed passengers about their rights in a fair but tricky manner. “If the flight is delayed on arrival for more than 3 hours, the passenger is entitled to compensation according to the regulation (unless the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided despite all reasonable measures).” – writes Wizz Air in the email. However, in such a case, people get compensation in the amount of EUR 250 per person. However, it does not say how to claim this compensation from the airline.

The bus arrived for passengers at 01:44

As Blikk writes, at 01:44 at night, a bus arrived for some of those waiting at the airport. However, it was not revealed whether the airport or the airline organised the pickup. Meanwhile, some of the passengers created a messenger group where they could share important information. At 02:04, a rumor began to spread according to which the plane could not arrive due to a storm. 45 people left by bus and probably found accommodation, but another 158 people were still left waiting at the airport.

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Attention! Wizz Air suspends several flights in the winter

Wizz Air plane

Wizz Air is said to suspend 6 routes from its newly opened Sarajevo base in the winter. The cutbacks are believed to be a result of low demand.  

The six affected routes

According to exyuaviation.com, Wizz Air discontinued ticket sales for flights from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital to Malmö, Gothenburg, Charleroi, Sandefjord, Treviso and Beauvais for the winter. Passengers can book the last flights to Malmö on 2 October, to Gothenburg, Charleroi, and Sandefjord on 9 October, and to Treviso and Beauvais on 27 October this year. Although the above-mentioned destinations still appear to be available on Wizz Air’s website, after autumn these flights will depart from the nearby Tuzla airport.

When asked by EX-YU Aviation, Wizz Air did not confirm or deny that the 6 routes were suspended. Instead, they said, “we constantly monitor our network and adjust schedules based on demand and other market conditions.”

Read alsoThis is why Ryanair received a huge fine from the Hungarian government

Wizz Air is the market-dominant airline in Sarajevo

As simpleflying.com reports, a while ago Sarajevo Airport was seeking low-cost carriers. Wizz Air quickly jumped in and won the tender. The airline is now eligible for additional discounts if it increases operations throughout 2022 and 2023. Wizz Air flies from Sarajevo to several destinations in Europe and the Middle East including Abu Dhabi, Hamburg or Malmö. Now the Hungarian airline is the market-dominant airline at the Sarajevo airport. However, Wizz Air also operates at Tuzla airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Changes at Wizz Air: newly launched and suspended flights

As we previously reported, the Hungarian airline has already suspended some popular destinations from September. These are the following: Alicante (Spain), Corfu (Grece), Heraklion (Greece), Faro (Portugal), Larnaca (Cyprus), Lanzarote (Spain), Palma de Mallorca (Spain), Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) and Tenerife (Spain). On the other hand, Wizz Air will resume flights from the United Arab Emirates to Moscow in October. The company suspended all services to Russia after the Russian army’s attack in Ukraine five months ago. The planes will board in the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi.

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No stopping — Wizz Air may raise fares even further, says president

wizz air plane

Robert Carey, Chairman of Wizz Air, has issued a statement. In it, he spoke about the cancellation of flights, the difficulties caused by COVID, the effects of the war and the departure tax imposed by the Hungarian government. On the latter, he said that ticket prices may have to be increased further.

Delays, cancellations, difficulties

The runway at London Luton Airport has started melting due to the unusual heat. Wizz Air chairman Robert Carey said it was the first time in his 20-year career that a flight had been delayed or cancelled because of the incident. Stranded passengers waited days for a replacement flight. According to Carey, they had to wait to be able to safely land the replacement flight, according to an interview with 24.hu.

Carey pointed out that 153 planes have been operating so far, which has grown to 160 and will increase to 170 by September. This means that there are spare aircraft for similar cases. However, since there are Wizz Air bases at 40 airports, not all of them can have spare aircraft.

Wizz Air London Luton Hungarian passengers
Read alsoWoman bought very expensive plane ticket due to Wizz Air’s mistake

This was the cause of another big Wizz Air scandal this summer, when passengers were stranded in Paris. The crew’s flight time expired. So for safety reasons the plane could not return with passengers. Wizz Air always strives to ensure that as few passengers as possible suffer as little damage as possible.

Wizz Air has reduced the number of flights on its schedule. This means that there are more spare aircraft and crew in the system. In addition, the schedule is more airy to allow for minor delays. “We have cancelled 5 percent of the July and August flights scheduled at the beginning of June”. Much of this was before the 14-day deadline, to give passengers time to reschedule.

Wizz Air economic situation

Wizz Air carries around 32 million passengers during the summer season, broadly defined, which runs until the end of October; 4-5 million per month. Carey believes that the airline, unlike other airports, is not facing a passenger shortage.

Carey was surprised to find so many problems in the industry. There were already capacity issues in 2019. Now, they would have had 3 years, yet they failed to prepare. “The baggage handlers knew we’d be back at some point, the security knew – everyone knew, yet everyone was completely caught off guard by this summer.”

Wizz Air’s president says the concept of an “extra profit” tax is hard to believe, because there is no such thing as “extra profit”. In fact, there is no profit in the industry at the moment.

“I don’t know of any operator that is profitable at the 2019 level, let alone at a better rate. What does that mean? Ultimately, it means that we have to get the equation right and when the price of fuel goes up, we have to pass that cost on to the passenger.”

For Wizz Air, extra services generate more revenue than tickets. Robert Carey argues that instead of a Hungarian government tax, it would be more appropriate to encourage airlines to be sustainable, writes Telex.hu.

ryanair ceo Michael O’Leary
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Wizz Air suspends lots of flights from September!

Budapest Airport Wizz Air travel bus

The Hungarian low-cost airline, Wizz Air, announced that it would suspend flights to nine popular destinations from September. These include Corfu, Sharm-el-Sheikh and Tenerife. The flights may resume next spring, the company said. They made that decision due to profitability reasons. Read more details on the issue below.

No longer profitable for Wizz Air

According to Daily Mail, a British newspaper, Wizz Air is to suspend flights from Cardiff, United Kingdom, to nine popular winter sun resorts. From 19 September on, no Wizz flights will take off to those destinations because they are no longer commercially viable. The nine destinations are the following: Alicante (Spain), Corfu (Grece), Heraklion (Greece), Faro (Portugal), Larnaca (Cyprus), Lanzarote (Spain), Palma de Mallorca (Spain), Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) and Tenerife (Spain).

Ticket holders concerned will be informed by email and will get compensation, the company said. They will either be able to rebook their flight and go on their trip from London Gatwick or Luton airports or book “comparable flights to go next summer from Cardiff”. Furthermore, people will get a full cash refund or 120% of their ticket cost in airline credit.

Flights to return next spring

Meanwhile, the Hungarian airline confirmed they would fly to Milan (Italy) and Bucharest (Romania) in the winter. The tickets to those two destinations will be available from October. Planes from the Cardiff base will fly to the nine winter resorts only from April 2023. The company will offer the staff in the Welsh capital to continue their work at other UK airports and return in the spring.

Managing director of Wizz Air UK Marion Geoffrey said: “We are very disappointed to have to suspend several routes from Cardiff Airport for the winter season. Though these routes have proved popular through the summer season, it would not be commercially viable to continue to operate them through this coming winter due to the challenging macro-economic environment”. “It takes time to build up sustainable operations at any base, and we are prepared to build up operations at Cardiff over the long term”, he added.

The company’s Cardiff airbase started operation in December 2020. They aimed to increase the airport’s yearly seat capacity by 350,000.

Woman bought very expensive plane ticket due to Wizz Air’s mistake

Wizz Air London Luton Hungarian passengers

Wizz Air’s mistake cost a lot for a Hungarian woman: she unnecessarily bought expensive plane tickets for her parents. Now, the woman wants to get the price of the tickets back, and Wizz Air promises to compensate for the damage.

An expensive plane ticket for nothing

A Hungarian woman bought a plane ticket for her parents for HUF 130,000 (EUR 329,44), but as it turned out later, completely unnecessarily, reports rtl.hu. Wizz Air first informed her that her parents’ plane would land in the Bulgarian capital instead of Budapest. Therefore, the woman rushed to buy two Sofia-Budapest tickets for her parents. However, soon she got a message saying there was a mistake and the plane would be landing in Budapest.

Wizz Air crew Hungarian airline
Read alsoHungarian Wizz Air to fly again to Moscow from October!

The woman tried calling Wizz Air customer service but could not reach them

Her parents came home from Malta from their vacation, but she was the one to arrange their plane tickets, that is why she got the messages from Wizz Air. When she received the first message, she immediately tried to solve the problem by buying a new ticket. Her parents had urgent business in Budapest, so she had to arrange for them to arrive in the Hungarian capital on time. “I tried to call the Wizz Air customer service for almost an hour to see if this was real and if the plane would even take off at the same time because we didn’t get any information about anything else, but they were completely unreachable,” the woman told rtl.hu.

Read alsoVIDEO: Wizz Air plane scared many bystanders to death

She expects compensation from Wizz Air

Two hours after she had bought the new tickets, she received a second message from Wizz Air. It turned out that they made a mistake and the plane was scheduled to land in Budapest. However, by that time, the Hungarian woman has already paid HUF 130,000 (EUR 329,44). As she bought new tickets completely unnecessarily, now she is expecting compensation from the airline.

Wizz Air has already informed the woman that it would compensate for her damages and refund the unnecessary plane tickets. They added that due to a technical error several of their passengers received the wrong system messages on 9 August. According to Index, another passenger also received such a message that day, but it was related to the London-Budapest flight.

wizzair emergency landing
Read alsoWizzAir passengers arrived in Rhodes but their luggage was left in Hungary!

Wizz Air offers another 100,000 flights to Ukrainian refugees

wizz air over budapest

Low-cost airlines Wizz Air has offered another 100,000 tickets free of charge to Ukrainian citizens fleeing their country, the company said on Thursday.

The tickets valid for Wizz Air Hungary and Wizz Air UK flights on 800 routes between September 15 and December 8 will help “Ukrainian residents reach their destinations”, the company said.

Ukrainians can make reservations at https://wizzair.com/#/rescue.

Earlier, Wizz Air made a similar offer of 100,000 tickets to Ukrainians on March 2, to be used on continental flights from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.

WizzAir air
Read alsoWizz Air plane badly damaged by the weather — PHOTOS

Wizz Air plane badly damaged by the weather — PHOTOS

WizzAir air

The Hungarian airline, Wizz Air flew from London to Catania airport on Monday. The flight arrived at its destination but the aircraft was badly damaged by the weather. The hail caused severe damage to the nose of the aircraft. Fortunately, no one was injured. See pictures of what could have easily turned into an accident.

Storm in Sicily

The Weather Sicily Facebook page has reported on the extreme weather conditions in Sicily, Italy. The extreme stormy weather was accompanied by torrential rain, flash floods and hail. Yet the air traffic did not stop. As a result, an aircraft of the Hungarian airline Wizz Air was badly damaged.

Weather Sicily reported the story of the Wizz Air flight on its Facebook page. According to their information, the aircraft was flying from London to the Sicilian city of Catania. It was an Airbus A321-271NX aircraft W95793.

According to Flightradar24, the Wizz Air flight to Catania departed from Gatwick Airport at 11:15 am instead of 10:10 am, with a roughly one-hour delay. The plane landed in Sicily at 15:02. The photos at the bottom of the page clearly show that the aircraft was in serious need of repair. Wizz Air has not commented on the incident yet, reported rtl.hu.

Wizz Air crew Hungarian airline
Read alsoHungarian Wizz Air to fly again to Moscow from October!

Expert on the dangerous landing

As we reported earlier, another Wizz Air flight, an Airbus A321neo, landed at the Skiathos Airport in Greece at a lower altitude than usual. The incident was also recorded on video.

Telex.hu spoke to an aviation expert. György Háy, accident investigator and retired pilot, said that the plane did indeed land low. The reason for this is that the runway was short and the pilot must have tried to land hurriedly. This aircraft may have overshot the optimum angle, but it recorded the data, which will be evaluated later.

People cannot be swept away by the plane because the level of the runway is higher than the ground level behind the fence. Nevertheless, the expert warns everyone that it is reckless to go near the plane’s turbine in such places.

Hungarian Wizz Air to fly again to Moscow from October!

Wizz Air crew Hungarian airline

After the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, Hungary’s low-cost airline, Wizz Air, suspended all flights to Moscow. However, it seems that they will change the policy this October, even though it does not seem likely that the Kremlin and Kyiv will reach an agreement by then.

According to Reuters, the Hungarian budget airline, Wizz Air, will resume flights from the United Arab Emirates to Moscow in October. The company suspended all services to Russia after the Russian army’s attack in Ukraine five months ago. The planes will take off in the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi.

The flights will depart daily from 3 October and will be operated by Wizz Air Abu Dhabi. The fares will start from AED 359 (EUR 95).

Wizz Air announced in October 2021 that their Abu Dhabi to Moscow flights would start in December that year. However, they suspended all flights to Russia on 27 February. “Other Emirati carriers, including Emirates, have continued to operate services to Russia following the invasion of Ukraine”, Reuters wrote.

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ and the European airline. It is based in Abu Dhabi and is a United Arab Emirates registered carrier. Since the company is registered there, no EU sanctions apply to it.

As we reported before, a Wizz Air plane caused panic amongst people in Skiathos, Greece. The island’s runway is very close to a seashore road, so many people regularly do aircraft spotting there. However, a plane landed so low that it almost shaved the head of the bystanders. A flight expert said that people standing so close to a runway were fools, but the company started an internal investigation into the matter.

Read alsoVIDEO: Wizz Air plane scared many bystanders to death

VIDEO: Wizz Air plane scared many bystanders to death

During landing, a Wizz Air plane almost shaved the head of the bystanders on the Greek island of Skiathos.

According to airportal.hu, a famous Greek youtuber, GreatFlyer, recorded what happened. Wizz Air’s Airbus A321neo landed today morning on the paradise-like Greek island of Skiathos, which is also called the Europeans St. Maarten.

The runway of the local airport is very close to a seashore road. Therefore, the place is among the most popular tourist spots where people watch and record the landings.

wizz air greece video
Photo: PrtSrc/Youtube

However, what the Wizz Air plane did surprised and scared some bystanders and even the experienced Youtuber. Below you can watch the video he posted. You can see that many people started to run as the plane descended and tilted a bit.

 

WizzAir passengers arrived in Rhodes but their luggage was left in Hungary!

wizzair emergency landing

Those who travelled from Budapest to Rhodes with WizzAir on Tuesday morning were in for a big surprise. Although they checked in their luggage at the airport, those did not arrive at the destination with them.

Not a single luggage has arrived

One of the passengers wrote to Telex about the incident. “We have just landed in Rhodes. No luggage has arrived. The trunk was empty. Wizz Air did not bring anyone’s package from Budapest. For example, we arrived with a three-year-old girl. Nobody knows anything.” Another unlucky passenger wrote: “Wizz Air does not know when it can present our luggage. We had to fill out a small form and we are currently waiting for the information. For the time being, the link for tracking the luggage shows Tracing continues – Check back later.”

wizz air hungary
Read alsoWizz Air flight evacuated due to bomb threat again!

Passengers received their luggage a day later

Although passengers had to wait a day for their luggage, finally, they received them. “We are without the contents of two 20-kilogram suitcases, while our friends are without one more. The explanation was that after landing, the pilot stated that he had taken off with an empty hold, and no luggage. This is how the holiday is off to an adventurous start. There are no bathing suits, no change of clothes, underwear, medicines (contraceptives, antihypertensives, etc.),” wrote the above-mentioned passenger. However, around noon on Wednesday, the luggage arrived. – reports hvg.hu.

WizzAir’s response

According to WizzAir, the plane had to be changed on Tuesday, which is why the passengers’ luggage was left in Hungary. “The airline informed the passengers that they can collect their luggage at the Rhodes-Diagoras International Airport that same day, from 11:30 PM. Passengers who were unable to pick up their luggage yesterday will have their suitcases delivered today, 3 August. We would also like to apologize for the inconvenience caused to passengers”.

WizzAir
Read alsoWizz Air did not receive permission for American flights – here is why

Wizz Air and Air France: new planes and winter flights

Wizz Air crew Hungarian airline

Air France has announced its winter 2022 timetable, and Wizz Air will fly to Madeira during the cold months.

Air France plans 2-3 daily flights to Budapest in winter

From the end of October, the airline will operate more flights to Lapland than in the previous year, and the connection between Pointe-à-Pitre and Montreal will be available again, reports airportal.hu.

According to the company, there will be no significant change in the number of Air France flights between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Budapest Liszt Ferenc airports, with Airbus A320 aircrafts flying 2-3 times daily between the two capitals.

Air France will also keep its Helsinki service, which was launched in summer 2021, and will continue to offer connections to Copenhagen, Billund, Oslo, Bergen, Stockholm and Gothenburg in the region, with a transfer in Paris.

Wizz Air will fly to Madeira in winter

From 30 October, Wizz Air will offer two flights a week on its winter schedule between Budapest and Madeira. According to the airline’s statement that was sent to airportal.hu, the flights will depart from Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport to Madeira every Tuesday and Sunday from 30 October. Fares start from HUF 27 990 (EUR 69.2).

Wizz Air will not delay the delivery of their new aircrafts

Wizz Air, which closed the last quarter with a significant loss, expects a massive profit in the summer months, although operational difficulties have forced it to cut back its summer capacity. The situation is now returning to normal and the company is maintaining its fleet development plans, according to airportal.hu.

The airline will not postpone the delivery of any of its new aircraft, although possible disruptions due to supply chain problems are expected, with only a few months of delays, according to the airline’s report for its first financial quarter (April-June 2022).

Wizz Air expects to take delivery of a further 36 A321neo aircraft for the remainder of its financial year (until the end of March 2023), while 11 older A320s will leave the fleet, with four A320s stuck in Ukraine still to be released from the war-torn country.

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Wizz Air flight evacuated due to bomb threat again!

wizz air hungary
 

A Wizz Air flight was evacuated last week because of a false bomb threat. That was the second time passengers had to leave a plane of the Hungarian low-cost airline due to a menace that later proved false. Here are the details!

Anonymous call about a bomb

According to airportal.hu, the flight concerned took off in Tel-Aviv, Israel and was due to land in Krakow. The passengers had to leave the Airbus A321neo-type plane on evacuation slides in the Polish city because of a bomb threat they received on Saturday late night.

Authorities searched the plane after the anonymous report about the bomb but found nothing. World Israel News said passengers complained for they had to wait for half an hour in the dark. Afterwards, they were transported to the terminal but received no information about what happened.

 

This was the second false threat in just one week Wizz Air received

Since the Krakowian airport has only one runway, the facility was closed during the investigation. As a result, several other planes had to land on nearby airfields.

Passengers received their luggage six hours after the landing, at around 3 am. 

As we reported before, another Wizz Air flight made an emergency landing in Budapest because of a bomb threat last Wednesday afternoon. The plane was flying over Lake Balaton when the pilots received information about a possible bomb on board. They immediately turned back to Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport. The passengers had to leave the plane through the emergency slide. The flight took off in Bari (Italy), and its destination was Krakow.

Read alsoBrutal ticket price rise at Hungarian Wizz Air

Fixed prices at Wizz Air after huge price increases

wizz air plane

Last Friday, 15 July, saw a brutal increase in Wizz Air fares. After more than a week, there has not been a change in ticket prices, which means that the high prices are here to stay. Read our article to find out more.

Brutal price increase, fixed minimum price

After last Friday’s brutal increase, Wizz Air has not changed its fares, so it is increasingly certain that it has permanently increased the prices of many tickets and fixed them at a much higher level than before, writes okosutas.hu.

As we wrote before, suddenly, the Hungarian low-cost airline increased its prices and standardised them last week. They created two categories: HUF 5,940 (EUR 15) and HUF 15,740 (EUR 39). The traditionally cheap flight routes fall into the first category: Brussels (Belgium), Milan (Italy) and Burgas (Bulgaria). However, most prices went up to EUR 39, including Porto, Oslo, Paris, and London. Okosutas.hu says that all ticket prices changed accordingly until next March.

Two categories

The routes that were already very cheap are now in the first category, with no spectacular increase in price, starting from EUR 15 instead of EUR 10 (rarely EUR 5). But most of the routes are now in the EUR 40-50 category, including some that used to be regularly offered for EUR 10-20.

For example, all British routes from London to Edinburgh are like this. Italy has flights in both categories and the situation is similar in Sweden: in addition to Stockholm, Gothenburg, which used to be very cheap, has now been increased to EUR 40-50, while Malmö is in the cheaper category. Paris, Larnaca and all the Greek islands are of course the most expensive, even the last outbound holiday flights, which are almost empty and have always been EUR 10.

Fixed prices from September, October and December

For August, many tickets are cheaper than this, and then from 1 September, a fixed minimum price will apply to most routes until March 2023. There are exceptions, however, where the price only goes up to the fixed level in October or December. It may be more expensive in peak periods, but it does not seem to be cheaper. So the vast majority of tickets available today are set at a uniform EUR 40-50.

Budapest Airport
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Wizz Air did not receive permission for American flights – here is why

WizzAir

The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) has rejected Wizz Air’s application for a Foreign Air Carrier Permit (FACP). WizzAir did not receive the permission for American flights over concerns about its safety oversight.

In its decision issued the other day, the Department of Transport writes: it was not possible to ensure that Wizz Air’s safety supervision was adequate. – reports  CH-Aviation.

Safety problems by WizzAir?

The DoT document collection reveals that Wizz Air submitted an application for a so-called Foreign Air Carrier Permit back in January. Foreign airlines need to apply for this in order to launch flights to the United States. The regulator said: “The Department seeks a safety recommendation from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as part of our adjudication of foreign air carrier applications for initial exemption and/or permit authority. In this case, the FAA has advised us that it cannot make a determination at this time as to whether the safety oversight of Wizz Air Hungary is sufficient to support the award of economic authority to the applicant.” However, the rejection might not be the final decision. They await additional information from the EU and Hungarian aviation authorities because it is not clear how Wizz Air is supervised by the two organizations and whether its effectiveness is adequate.

Runway Wizz Air
Read alsoHungarian Wizz Air to fly to the Maldives!

WizzAir’s response

Wizz’s submission was attacked by both the largest European and American trade unions, citing security deficiencies and the treatment of employees. – reports airportal.hu. “While the ECA, ALPA and other Union Parties attempt to couch their grievances in terms of “fitness” and safety, their real concern is that Wizz Air’s service has provided an important alternative to legacy air carrier service… The Department should not countenance the efforts of ALPA, the ECA or the other Union Parties to stop innovation in its tracks, or drag US regulators into issues that even the ECA itself has acknowledged are more properly addressed by European authorities,” the airline said. EASA also wrote in its letter that it exercises adequate safety supervision over the airline, complying with international regulations in all respects, and even surpassing them. In addition, the office rejected the accusations of the European Pilots’ Association (ECA), which question its competencies.

Budapest Airport Wizz Air travel bus
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Hungarian Wizz Air to fly to the Maldives!

Runway Wizz Air

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, the ultra-low-fare national airline of the UAE, today announces it will launch two new routes from Abu Dhabi to the idyllic island paradise of the Maldives, and the airline’s fifth key destination in the Gulf, Kuwait.

The new routes will offer travellers the opportunity to explore marvellous destinations in line with the airline’s ambition to provide tourists and residents in the UAE and the region with hassle-free, affordable travel options. Tickets are on sale now on wizzair.com and on the airline’s mobile app, with fares starting from just AED 99* for Kuwait and AED 319* for Maldives.

From October, Wizz Air will offer flights four times a week on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from Abu Dhabi to Male, the main international airport in the Maldives. Located in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives is an unrivalled holiday destination, boasting white sandy beaches, spectacular sunsets and colourful reefs brimming with wildlife. With year-round tropical weather, this picturesque paradise promises ultimate escapism from everyday life. For those yearning to discover what the islands have to offer, Wizz Air’s new route unlocks affordable travel options for those within the UAE and for self-connecting passengers travelling from Central and Eastern Europe via the Wizz Air network.

Flights to Kuwait, located in the North-Western corner of the Persian Gulf, will operate daily from Abu Dhabi, providing travellers with the opportunity to experience authentic Arab traditions and learn about its unique history over the years. Kuwait City is home to some of the top tourist attractions in Kuwait, such as the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center, the Grand Mosque of Kuwait and Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Center. The city is also known for its Souq Al Mubarakiya, one of the country’s oldest markets, which offers an exotic sensory experience.

The new routes will see Wizz Air Abu Dhabi fly to a total of 34 destinations within a five-hour flight time radius of Abu Dhabi, since the airline launched in January 2021.  The arrival of a fifth aircraft later this year means flights to Kuwait and the Maldives will be operated on a brand-new Airbus A321neo aircraft, which offers the lowest environmental footprint. Today’s expansion reaffirms Wizz Air’s long-term commitment to offering ultra-low fares to a variety of diverse destinations from Abu Dhabi, whilst stimulating the local economy and job market.

Owain Jones, Development Officer at Wizz Air said: “We are excited to announce two new Wizz Air Abu Dhabi routes, which reaffirm our commitment to supporting the UAE’s travel and tourism industry by connecting its capital with many popular holiday destinations regionally and globally. With the arrival of our fifth Airbus aircraft in October, we are delighted to enhance connectivity with our neighbour countries across the GCC with flights to Kuwait, as well as providing our customers with affordable flights to the Maldives. We are particularly excited about the launch of flights to the Maldives, a tropical paradise destination high up on travellers’ bucket list. The WIZZ team looks forward to welcoming customers onboard our young and green aircraft very soon.”

Strategically located in the UAE, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi provides ultra-low fare, hassle-free and efficient travel options to Alexandria (Egypt), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Amman (Jordan), Aqaba (Jordan), Athens (Greece), Baku (Azerbaijan), Belgrade (Serbia), Dammam (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait City (Kuwait), Kutaisi (Georgia), Manama (Bahrain), Male (Maldives), Muscat (Oman), Nur Sultan (Kazakhstan), Salalah (Oman), Santorini (Greece), Sarajevo (Bosnia), Sohag (Egypt), Tel-Aviv (Israel), Tirana (Albania) and Yerevan (Armenia) among others.

The ease of COVID-19 restrictions and the removal of PCR test requirements for vaccinated travellers has made travel simpler again allowing for more spontaneous travel opportunities.

The airline has a young fleet composed of four brand new state-of-the-art Airbus A321neo aircraft, offering the lowest fuel burn, emissions and noise footprint. Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has the lowest environmental footprint among its competitors in the region, supporting the airline’s long-term commitment to sustainability.

For ultimate peace of mind during this uncertain time, passengers can book tickets with confidence, thanks to WIZZ Flex. With WIZZ Flex, passengers can cancel their flight up to three hours before departure without any fee and receive 100% of the fare immediately reimbursed in airline credit.

“We are about to have a meltdown after 26 hours of waiting”, Wizz Air left Hungarians in London

Wizz Air London Luton Hungarian passengers

European airports and passengers are still struggling with chaos, delays and cancellations. The heatwave in the United Kingdom causes serious problems. A couple of days ago, the runway of the London-Luton Airport “melted”. As a result, flights from Budapest to London and from London to Budapest were delayed. Many were even cancelled. Many Hungarians remained stuck in the United Kingdom, blaming Wizz Air for not getting any help. Below you can read what exactly happened and how the airline finally helped them.

A complaining passenger

One of the travellers shared his experience with utazomajom.com, a Hungarian travel website. He said that Wizz Air provided no help or information after all the flights were delayed. Other companies organised taxis and accommodation for their passengers, but Wizz Air did nothing. “You leave people without food and drink in the middle of the heatwave hitting England”, he complained in an email. 

Even the police officers at Luton Airport could not track down Wizz Air’s employees. Furthermore, the next Wizz Air flight was scheduled to depart six days later.

Wizz Air did not help passengers find accommodation, taxi or new flight

The upset passenger wrote that they could have rebooked their ticket for GBP 350 instead of the original GBP 40. There was no accommodation within 10 kilometres of distance because other passengers were quick to storm to the nearby hotels and motels. The accommodation they found cost GBP 4-500/night. “We have been rotting here for 26 hours with no sleep in the past 40 hours”, he complained.

According to a Wizz Air statement published later, it was not their fault that their flight could not depart London-Luton. However, they helped their passengers to get home. They examined all possible options and reorganised their operation. As a result, a Wizz Air plane could take off in London on Wednesday afternoon. Consequently, the Hungarian passengers stuck in the British capital landed in Budapest at 5.20 pm.

Featured image: illustration

 

Budapest Airport queue useful
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