An unusual story was brought to our attention by our reader, who flew from the Greek island of Kefalonia to Budapest a few days ago. The June 27 flight was scheduled to depart at 9:55 a.m. local time, but arrived 20 minutes late. Before they started boarding, the passengers were turned away from the plane, and for hours afterwards they were not told why they could not board.
According to the reader, around 2:40 p.m., the ground handling staff started listing names. “We didn’t really understand why. It turned out that the people listed cannot get on the plane, they didn’t say why (…),” wrote the reader. As it turned out afterwards, the plane was unable to take off on time due to an unplanned maintenance task. However, during the hours-long delay, one of the plane’s crew members was off duty, and fewer passengers could board the flight due to reduced staff.
“We don’t know on what basis these people were selected, but couples were split up, one member could not come home, and we also heard that one person from a group of friends was taken out and had to stay,” wrote the reader. His name and that of his fellow passengers were not on the list, so they were able to get on the plane, which eventually left several hours late for Budapest. He added that, as far as they know, these passengers were only able to travel home on the next scheduled direct flight three days later, on Tuesday, June 30.
We contacted Wizz Air to ask what exactly happened and what kind of compensation the affected passengers are entitled to in situations like this. According to the company’s announcement, the plane could return to Hungary with a reduced crew due to safety regulations, with a crew of six a maximum of two hundred people can be transported, but the flight was booked for 223 passengers. A few actually stayed on the Greek island and then came back to Budapest on the next direct flight (after the 27th, the next direct flight left on the 30th), but some passengers continued on the same day, with a transfer in Bucharest.
According to the announcement of the low-cost airline, in such cases the costs of accommodation, catering and transfers between the airport and the accommodation up to the departure of the overbooked flight are covered, and those concerned are entitled to the Regulation EC261 compensation according to
According to Wizz Air, the staff of the local ground handling partner in such cases first look for applicants, but if necessary, they themselves designate those who will not be allowed on the given flight, and Wizz Air gives them the option of rebooking. According to the information appearing on social media and our reader, there were no voluntary applicants in this specific case, but those who could not get on the plane were designated in advance.
The airline replied that in the case of Kefalonia, they launched an investigation into whether the ground service staff acted in accordance with the rules of Wizz Air in the specific case, as it is stipulated that persons traveling with children or infants, or persons with limited mobility, are not designated among the passengers who miss the flight in such a situation.
Most recently with Wizz Air there was also a problem with the luggage that could be taken on board: passengers flying from Spain reported that their bags could have fit in the metal frame, but they were penalized by the airport staff. The airline promised that they would investigate the matter and, if it turns out that an irregularity had occurred, they would consult with their ground service partner who checks the size of the bags about the correct procedure.
