Enforcement action by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of the United Kingdom against Wizz Air has led to USD 1.57 million being refunded to passengers, reports Travel Weekly.
More than 25,000 claims have already been re-examined and additional payments have been disbursed to around 6,000 cases, as per CAA.
Earlier, Wizz Air claimed USD 114 million had been invested to improve the airline’s operations after CAA took “unprecedented enforcement action” against Wizz Air in 2023, for “falsely refusing passenger compensation claims for flight disruption”. WIzz Air claimed that this investment had resulted in a flight completion rate of 99.24%.
The CAA had ordered the eastern and central European budget carrier to re-look at a series of claims made since March 2022, which meant that passengers who had claims incorrectly rejected “receive the money they are legally owed”, Travel Weekly reported further.
Additionally, CAA said it had “significant concerns” about the number of complaints from customers, and believed Wizz Air had failed to meet its legal obligations “in ensuring they reached their destination after a cancellation”.
Wizz Air was required by the CAA to review previously assessed claims it received for replacement flight costs, transfers when replacement flights were via different airports, care and assistance; which usually includes hotel costs.
The airline had since said it has fully complied with a “deed of undertaking” signed by the CAA in 2023, following the disruption of its service in summer 2022.
Meanwhile, Wizz Air has claimed 90% of refunds are now processed within five days.
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi began operations to the Maldives, connecting the Maldives with the UAE via the airline for the first time on October 4, 2022.