Compensation for a delayed or cancelled Wizz Air flight

Compensation for a delayed Wizz Air flight

Passengers can claim compensation of €250 to €600 for a delayed Wizz Air flight if they reach their final destination 3 hours or more late. The arrival delay is counted until at least one of the aircraft doors is opened and passengers can leave the aircraft, not until the moment of landing.

What are your rights when your Wizz Air flight is delayed?

As a low-cost carrier, Wizz Air plans short turnarounds between flights to use its aircraft as much as possible. With such a schedule, a delay early in the day is hard to make up - the time for unloading and loading baggage, cleaning and refuelling leaves no buffer, and the delay is carried over from one flight to the next. Wizz Air delays are often caused by the carrier's own organisation, not by external events.

In extraordinary circumstances - for example, severe weather, air traffic restrictions or certain airport problems - Wizz Air may be released from paying compensation if it proves that this particular circumstance caused the delay of that particular flight and that the delay could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Ordinary technical faults and strikes by Wizz Air's own staff over employment issues are, as a rule, not extraordinary circumstances.

Compensation for a cancelled Wizz Air flight

If Wizz Air cancels a flight and passengers are told less than 14 days before the scheduled departure, they can claim compensation of €250 to €600, unless the airline proves that an extraordinary circumstance caused the cancellation of that particular flight and that the cancellation could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken, or it offered re-routing that meets the conditions of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. Besides financial compensation, the Regulation also gives you the right to choose between a refund of the ticket price and re-routing to your final destination, as well as the right to care - meals, refreshments and, if needed, accommodation. Care is owed even when the cancellation is due to extraordinary circumstances.

When it cancels a flight, Wizz Air often offers credit in its own system (WIZZ Credit) instead of a refund. Credit can only be given with the passenger's written agreement - the choice is yours, and turning down credit does not affect your right to compensation. Credit usually has a limited validity and conditions on who can use it, whereas compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 paid in cash has no such restrictions.

How much compensation does Wizz Air have to pay?

Under Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, the amount of compensation depends on the length of the route:

If you are re-routed, the airline may, under certain conditions, reduce the compensation by 50%.

Check how much compensation you can get for your Wizz Air flight

Refund of the ticket price and other expenses

If your flight is cancelled or you are denied boarding, the airline must offer you a choice between re-routing to your final destination and a refund of the ticket price. The choice is yours - Wizz Air cannot force an alternative flight on you instead of a refund. If your flight is delayed by 5 hours or more, you have the right to give up the trip and ask for a refund of the ticket price.

When can you ask Wizz Air for a refund of your ticket?

• your flight was cancelled and you chose a refund instead of re-routing;
• your flight was delayed by 5 hours or more and you decided not to travel;
• you were denied boarding and chose a refund instead of re-routing.

The refund covers the price of the unused parts of the ticket and is due within 7 days. It is paid in cash or by bank transfer. Wizz Air may offer WIZZ Credit instead of a cash refund. The amount and conditions depend on the specific offer, and credit can replace a cash refund only with your written agreement. Credit has a limited validity and conditions of use, whereas money paid by bank transfer has no such restrictions.

A ticket refund is not compensation. These are two separate rights, and getting one does not cancel the other. If your flight is cancelled or you are denied boarding, you do not lose your right to compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 just because you accepted a refund of your ticket or re-routing.

What other expenses can you claim from Wizz Air?

• the cost of meals, refreshments, hotel accommodation and transport if you waited for the delayed or replacement flight and Wizz Air did not provide them;
• the costs you incurred to reach your final destination if you were not offered a choice between re-routing and a refund and had to arrange the journey yourself.

Wizz Air flight compensation - routes and amounts

The table shows examples of Wizz Air routes in Europe and the possible compensation per passenger. The amount shown is the possible compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 - your entitlement depends on the other conditions of the Regulation, and in certain cases the compensation may be reduced.

The examples are based on Wizz Air routes as of October 2026; some of them are seasonal. On flights to the EU from non-EU countries, the Regulation applies when the flight is operated by an EU carrier. Wizz Air UK flights from the United Kingdom are covered by the UK rules. Distances are calculated using the great circle method, as required by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004.

How does Wizz Air respond to compensation claims?

When you claim compensation, Wizz Air often sends a standard reply that refuses the claim on the grounds of an unforeseen technical problem beyond the company's control and lists bird strikes, lightning strikes or damage from a foreign object on the runway as possible causes. Such a reply does not prove an extraordinary circumstance. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 requires the airline to prove the specific cause for the specific flight, not to list several possible ones. The burden of proof is on the airline - the passenger does not have to disprove a vaguely worded refusal.

Sometimes the refusal says the flight was not changed, even though there is clear evidence of the delay or cancellation. In both cases, such a reply does not by itself show that you are not entitled to compensation, and it can be challenged.

How does Wizz Air offer re-routing?

When it cancels a flight, Wizz Air usually sends an automatic message with three options - credit in the company's system, a refund or a new flight - and sends the passenger to its website to choose, but does not offer a specific flight.

The choice between a refund and re-routing is yours and stays yours, whatever the message suggests. Accepting credit requires your written agreement and cannot be imposed on you.

How does the process of collecting your compensation work?

You can follow the progress of your claim in your personal account, and we email you whenever there is a change in your case. If you have any questions, you can always contact us by phone too.

Did the airline refuse to pay you?

The airline’s refusal does not necessarily mean that you are not entitled to compensation. The reason given in the refusal is not always sufficient to release the airline from liability.

See why airlines refuse to pay compensation and how you can proceed.