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21 April, 2022

Wizz Air left passengers stranded 320km from their destination in the middle of the night

Wizzair aircraft takeoff in Zhuliany airport in Kiev, Ukraine. Zhuliany airport is a base for Wizzair air company in Ukraine. Wizz Air is a Hungarian low-cost airline with its head office in Budapest. The airline serves many cities across Europe, Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Budget carrier Wizz Air has been on the receiving end of a number of complaints after dumping its passengers 320km from their destination in the middle of the night.

To pour salt on the wound, the unlucky passengers then had to make their own way home.

The flight was originally due to take off from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel at 9:25 pm on Sunday (local time) for London Gatwick.

But the flight was delayed three hours so it lost its spot at Gatwick.

The plane was then rescheduled to land at London Luton, which caused a further delay because the plane needed more fuel.

Half an hour before the plane was meant to land, the pilots said they could not land at Luton, because the plane had lost its slot there as well.

The aircraft instead landed at Doncaster Sheffield Airport instead, 320km away from Gatwick at 3:15 am.

Passengers were told that coaches would take them on the three and a half-hour bus ride to Gatwick, but the crew “disappeared” and there were no buses, one disgruntled passenger told The Mirror.

There were reportedly barely any taxis available and many passengers had a long wait due to lack of preparation by the airport.

Shackav Karvat, a passenger from Epsom in Surrey, said there was no help from Wizz Air on landing.

“Airport security tried to help us and they managed to get us some water and biscuits. All the shops were closed and there was just one taxi waiting,” Karvat told The Mirror.

“No one expected 200 passengers in the middle of the night would land in Doncaster.”

Adar Cohen, another passenger on the flight, told The Independent he doubts that he will ever fly with the airline again.

“We went through passport control and there were just a few Wizz Air people about,” Cohen said.

“Everyone was wondering ‘Where are these coaches?’ They then said we couldn’t get coaches, there was no availability. They advised us to get a taxi and keep the receipt. Then they disappeared! I don’t even know how they got out of there.”

Tal Dekel-Daks, another unlucky passenger, said they were treated poorly on the flight as well.

“They didn’t give us anything when we were waiting on the tarmac for three hours (in Tel Aviv) – no water, no snacks. The trolley came around if you wanted to pay for something,” said Dekel-Daks.

“I’ve never flown them before and I don’t think I would again.”

A Wizz Air spokesperson said the airline “sincerely apologises for the inconvenience and disruption” about rerouting the flight.

The spokesperson said everything was done to help the passengers on landing, “however the UK Easter holidays – and lack of available bus and train transfers – made this extremely difficult to manage”.

Customers were asked to keep their taxi receipts and get in contact with the airline.

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Adar Cohen Ben Gurion Airport Epsom israel london gatwick London Luton Shackav Karvat Surrey Tal Dekel-Daks Tel Aviv The Mirror Wizz Air