GVH has decided: Wizz Air will refund thousands of passengers

According to the competition supervision procedure that began a year ago, the airline caused additional costs to passengers by withholding essential information from them between December 2022 and May 2023. Those with return tickets were unable to complete the free online check-in from a phone browser on their return trip, so they had to pay an airport check-in fee of 40 euros (approximately 16,000 forints).

Wizz Air acknowledged the technical error and agreed to credit 120 percent of the check-in fee to several thousand consumers in the form of a credit, 100 percent of which can be withdrawn in cash within a year. The compensation has already begun before the procedure, and the amount of refunds due to thousands of passengers exceeds HUF 80 million. According to the GVH, this, together with the costs of cooperation measures, is more than the penalty that could be imposed as a consequence of the violation.

The Competition Authority will impose a fine if the compensation is not paid, and its implementation will be monitored through a follow-up investigation. It was also stipulated that the airline must notify the affected parties by email and via its mobile application and publish general information. The GVH called on airlines to always publish their ticket sales information in a transparent and easily understandable form.