WizzAir Melt Down and Gatwick Chaos.
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at 15:33 by AMcWhirter.
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FormerBAParticipantOn Friday my son departed for a lads holiday to Cyprus. He was due to fly with WizzAir. Initially a delay of 1 hour posted, then they boarded, sat there for nearly 3 hours and then advised that due to lack of a push back tractor, the flight was cancelled. The usual promises of hotels food etc were made by a crew desperate to get rid of them into terminal.
Of course once there it was 2 hours before bags were returned and it was now almost 3am.
The only presence was the Police, there to hand out premium rate numbers for the airline. Just why the police are undertaking such a role when the are paid for by tax payers and not by idle airlines, is quite beyond me.
No staff from the airport or the airline. No hotels provided, but it soon became clear the flight was not cancelled but re timed to 10am. So he, and over 100 others, slept on the floor by the Wizzair check in counters. he tells me that across the terminal there were hundreds of passengers doing the same from other flights.
When check in opened at 6am for another flight, the passengers refused to move till given refreshment vouchers. This was done with each given £20 but, and this is the rub, they were only valid if you spent more that £20!!!
The flight was then re timed to 12 noon then 2pm, then 5pm all the while nothing from Wizzair or LGW. The Saturday LCA service was then cancelled when everyone was on board and once they disembarked my sons’s flight re timed to 2.15. It finally left at 16:45.
On board the crew behaved as though nothing had happened, There was no free food and they continued to serve over priced food and beverage.
The point is that chaos and disruption on this scale is now endemic and as such is not receiving any coverage. LGW simply cannot cope and Wizzair are wantonly disregarding their responsibilities under UK/EU261 regulations. Indeed on their web site there is no easy link to claim and the delay and cancellation page carries the head line ” Flight delayed or Cancelled…No worries”
I appreciate that LGW is bucket and spade, cheap and cheerful, low cost, low quality operations. Not withstanding passengers are being treated with utter contempt and it really is now time for the CAA to step in and bang heads together with draconian financial penalties for those who choose to ignore the regulations. Enough is enough.
To start, .the payment of compensation should be immediate (within 24 hours), back to original form of payment or via a pre paid master card that will work in a ATM to obtain cash. If not paid, it should be doubled and continue to double every 24 hours. Passengers should have this printed clearly on boarding passes rather than advertising.
Airlines who flagrantly ignore the regulations should be fined with suspension of the operating licence for repeat offenders. Airports are best placed to monitor and report on breaches as they, unlike the airline are manned 24/7. They also charge exorbitant fees to passenger to use the facilities, not just sleep on the floor.
12 users thanked author for this post.
18 Jul 2022
at 12:27
SimonS1ParticipantWizz Air is a sham of an airline. It sounds like some cheap, nasty Hungarian operation and believe me when you use them they are exactly that.
I started using them about 6 weeks back for my current commute Gatwick to Vienna. Total disaster.
Of the last 6 flights every one has been over 2 hours late, sometimes 3, apart from last Friday which was only 25 mins. For the 3 hour delay I had emailed to me a £4 voucher, received just before the final call to the gate.
The rolling delay described above is the usual tactic, the delay goes back by 20 or 30 mins a go over several hours.
The crew look totally frazzled, not helped by poor quality uniforms that make them look like they slept in them.
I logged EC261 claim on every occasion – nothing.
The issue is the regulator lacks any backbone and is too weak to do anything about it.
As of next week it’s back to Stansted/Ryanair. A pain as I live 15 mins from Gatwick but it just isn’t sustainable.
18 Jul 2022
at 14:58
AMcWhirterParticipantReally sorry to learn about your son’s troubles with Wizzair.
Many people have forgotten but one incident that I still remember is where Wizzair pax, who were expecting to land at a London airport, ended up at Doncaster.
Yorkshire Post (registration required)
Doncaster Free Press
1 user thanked author for this post.
18 Jul 2022
at 15:15
TominScotlandParticipantAlex, if Sandefjord = Oslo South and Hahn = Frankfurt West, then surely it is reasonable to describe Doncaster as London North – Ryanair probably would…..
18 Jul 2022
at 15:27
AMcWhirterParticipantHahaha TominScotland. I am sure if Ryanair operated at DSA (maybe this airport would have a better future if it had a Ryanair base) the budget carrier would describe DSA as the airport for the North !
18 Jul 2022
at 15:33 -
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