Wizz Air is currently causing quite a stir. Customers in Austria are currently receiving an email due to several rulings obtained by the Chamber of Labor. Wizz Air also continues to act unlawfully in direct contact with customers and official bodies, as we witnessed firsthand from a reader's experience.
With the bold announcement of numerous new routes to the Middle East, the family, like many others, booked a flight from Vienna to Kuwait for the coming winter in July 2023.
But as early as September 2023, Wizz Air decided to withdraw the route from its schedule and informed affected passengers of the cancellation by email without offering alternative transportation, as required by law. This is where the gauntlet began and the violation of applicable Austrian and European law.
Despite written and telephone requests, the airline made no effort to comply with the contract of carriage and offer the mandatory alternative transport. Only after repeated follow-up did a service employee promise to cover the costs of self-organized alternative transport from Vienna to Kuwait. Wizzair had, after all, debited the original flight price from the credit card directly upon booking and retained it.
After the invoice for the owed, but now self-booked, alternative transportation was submitted, Wizz Air refused to cover the costs for absurd and legally unfounded reasons. The airline's sometimes absurd arguments, written in faulty German, ranged from a renewed reference to the terms and conditions now challenged in court, to a blanket rejection of connecting flights, to a written refusal to provide alternative transportation, with the absurd justification that the flight was in the future.
The Agency for Passenger and Passenger Rights (apf), which is wholly owned by the Republic of Austria, is responsible for this case, which departed from Vienna. In the arbitration proceedings, it clearly concluded that Wizz Air is obligated to provide alternative transport to Kuwait. However, the airline also ignored the apf and refused to implement the arbitration ruling. Unlike many other arbitration bodies, this ruling is not binding, meaning that an uncooperative airline like Wizz Air can effectively walk all over the Republic of Austria and its customers.
By this point, approximately 90% of passengers would probably have already given up, either due to a lack of knowledge of their rights or uncertainty about legal enforcement.
However, our reader persisted and decided to take legal action against a Hungarian airline with headquarters in Malta and the United Arab Emirates, which appeared unimpressed by the Republic of Austria. Here, too, Wizz Air attempted to deflect attention from the issue with standardized and irrelevant responses from a Viennese lawyer. Even up until the first oral hearing in February 2025, the airline showed no remorse. Only then, faced with the obviously hopeless legal situation, did they relent and offer a settlement, including full reimbursement of the costs of alternative transportation, interest, and all legal and court fees.
This avoided a last-minute court ruling. But many other passengers are facing the same challenge or giving up in frustration.
The legitimate question remains: Anyone who ignores legal requirements vis-à-vis their customers for so long and does not even accept the arbitration award of a public authority may not be paying enough attention to other regulations either.
In any case, our reader is pleased that Wizz Air clearly came out on top in Vienna, while Austrian Airlines and Ryanair are far superior to the Hungarians, and is avoiding this low-cost airline if possible.
Little remains of the former expansion strategy. In summer 2025, only Jeddah will be served three times a week, while Kuwait will remain suspended. Routes to Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai will be suspended completely during the summer months. Our reader, like many others, is wondering whether a booked and paid Wizzair flight ticket will actually get you to your agreed destination.
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