Wizz Air, compensation ready for Madeira flight passengers

Wizz Air met with Enac's top management to present a package of refreshments for the more than 200 passengers who were protagonists, against their will, of the odyssey of the flight departing from Madeira to Fiumicino that was cancelled in mid-August due to bad weather: the passengers who were due to return on 15 August were stranded at Funchal airport in Madeira (Portugal) until 18 August and were able to return on a recovery flight made available by Wizz Air itself after an intervention by the Farnesina at the airline and the Italian embassy in Lisbon, which set up an emergency unit. The passengers remained in the airport sleeping on the ground without the possibility of washing and above all without protection because all the planes were full.

"We have met with Enac and proposed a compensation package including expenses incurred for accommodation, transport and meals." for passengers who have been affected said Yvonne Moynihan, Corporate & ESG Officer of the Hungarian low cost, during an online press conference, without going into details of the proposal. "We are waiting to see if our proposal will be accepted by Enac before we illustrate it," she added, pointing out that over the past year the company has invested in improving operations and today 71% of flights arrive on time and in the event of disruptions they respond on average within 14 days. Passengers who were affected by the Ferragosto rescue will have to submit a request for reimbursement, including the necessary receipts, through Wizz Air's website, a note said.

It was a hot summer for the low-cost airline, which in mid-August had made itself the protagonist of an innovative "All you can buy" commercial operation, an annual pass for 499 euros with which to fly to all international destinations, excluding domestic ones (in Italy it was not possible due to tax problems, said the manager) under certain conditions: the ticket must be purchased within 72 hours of the flight, luggage is excluded and an additional commission of 9.9 euros must be paid. The 10,000 packages put on the market were sold out in 48 hours, bringing 5 million euros into the company's coffers. The markets that responded best were Italian, English and Romanian. "We are evaluating whether to relaunch the promotion, we have not yet made a decision," Moynihan said. The first flights under the promotion are scheduled to depart on 25 September: 'Let's see how they go and then we will decide.

Meanwhile, the promotion has drawn criticism from consumer associations and from rival Ryanair, which has called it a 'marketing scam'. In turn, Assoutenti said it was ready to appeal to the Antitrust Authority in order to ascertain the legitimacy of the airline's commercial practice.