Wizz Air criticized by regulator for failed compensation claims

Thousands of dissatisfied Wizz Air customers are getting refunds after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) followed up on passenger complaints about compensation claims.

The regulator has forced the low-cost airline to shake up its “policies, procedures and passenger communications” after a slew of complaints about canceled flights and its poor track record on refunds.

The enforcement only applies to “assistance claims,” ​​meaning additional costs related to airfare, hotel accommodations, and ground transportation. Cash compensation for flights delayed or canceled is not covered.

Hungary-based and London-listed Wizz Air will be forced to make changes and reconsider previously rejected claims over the past 15 months.

And in a warning to the rest of the industry, Paul Smith, CAA’s joint interim boss, said the enforcement action against Wizz Air sends a clear message to other airlines about compliance standards.

Requests can also be made for complaints going back six years to ensure that “passengers who have made claims to Wizz Air in the past, but whose claims have been wrongly rejected… receive the money legally owed to them” is’.

Smith said: “This enforcement action sends a clear signal that airlines must meet their obligations to passengers when they cancel or delay a flight. We will not hesitate to intervene if we find that airlines are not doing this consistently.

Passengers have every right to expect their complaints and claims to be resolved quickly and efficiently and treated fairly by airlines in accordance with regulations. We made it clear to Wizz Air last year that the way it treated passengers was unacceptable.

“We will continue to monitor the situation closely to verify that passengers are being paid what they owe and that Wizz Air’s policies have been improved so that consumers have a better experience if something goes wrong.”

Commenting on the CAA’s decision, Marion Geoffroy, managing director at Wizz Air UK, highlighted “operational challenges” that affected “all airlines” last summer and were “primarily caused by the external environment”.

“(This includes) ATC disruptions, airport restrictions and staff shortages throughout the supply chain,” she said.

“As a result, we were unable to meet our own high service standards. Flights were too often late or canceled, disruption management overwhelmed our internal and external resources, and claims took too long to process and pay.

“We have learned from this experience and have taken important steps to make our operation more robust and customer-focused.”

Wizz Air Shares were up 0.8 percent in early trading to 2438p.

In February, Money Mail found that Wizz Air had received more complaints than any other airline.

A file of claims in excess of £4,000 was sent to the company.

And one passenger affected by Wizz Air not paying its customers what they owe was Ms. JO

She told the Financial Mail On Sunday: ‘I would fly from Doncaster to Cyprus on Wizz Air. We were waiting to board when I heard a woman yelling that the flight was cancelled. I checked my phone and found a text saying we were flying the next day.

“Emails said we would get food and drink vouchers, but we never did. We were told accommodation would be arranged, nothing was.

“Wizz Air staff had no idea what was going on. I ended up getting £700 from Wizz Air, but they still owe me £1,500.”

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel reacted to the news of the CAA taking an enforcement action, saying: ‘Wizz Air has a dismal track record of meeting its legal obligations under consumer law, winning millions of pounds in district court judgments after consistently failing to provide passengers with properly divert from delayed or canceled flights and then refuse to reimburse those passengers for their failure.

“It is right that the CAA finally intervenes, but it urgently needs more powers to hold airlines accountable more quickly.

“The CAA should be prepared to take Wizz Air to court quickly if it continues to break the law.”

However, he identified “weaknesses in the CAA’s powers,” in that the regulator “relies on Wizz Air commitments to comply with their enforcement.”

“The regulator urgently needs new powers in the King’s Speech so that the threat of fines forces airlines to act more quickly,” Boland added.