Wizz Air in trouble: EU may investigate record high number of cancellations

A Romanian state secretary complained about the regular delays and cancellations of the Hungarian low-cost company. And it seems he did not stop at just talking about the problem. He turned to the European Union’s Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) after Wizz Air cancelled a record-high number of flights this weekend.

Wizz Air losing Eastern Europe to Ryanair?

Wizz Air continuously expands in the Eastern European market, and the Middle East and Central Asia. For a non-professional outsider, the situation might seem as if the Hungarian carrier agreed with its main competitor, Ryanair, and distributed the European market. Wizz Air takes flights carrying guest workers between Eastern European and Western European countries. Meanwhile, the Irish low-cost airline dominates the market in Western Europe where Wizz Air seems unable to compete because of the many delays and cancellations its passengers must face.

However, we wrote HERE that the situation is far from that. Ryanair plans to take away the Eastern European market from Wizz Air. They want to beat Wizz Air by being punctual, offering tickets for a better price, more routes, and doing their best when it comes to delays and cancellations. They want to gain a dominant position in Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. Meanwhile, József Váradi, the CEO of Wizz Air, regularly talks about the importance of Eastern expansion, not a Western one. Probably that is why Abu Dhabi became the Hungarian airline’s main hub in the world instead of e.g. London or a German city.

Romania’s complaint and a possible investigation may accelerate the aforementioned trends. Bogdan Mîndrescu, a secretary of the Romanian transport ministry, announced in a Saturday Facebook post that they filed an official complaint against Wizz Air. The reason is that the Hungarian low-cost airline cancelled nine flights in only one day, maszol.ro, a Hungarian newspaper in Romania, wrote.