The airline misled its passengers
Budapest, January 31, 2025 – Wizz Air withheld important information about free online check-in, causing additional costs for passengers, according to the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH). The airline acknowledged the facts and agreed to pay thousands of consumers compensation in cash, totaling more than HUF 80 million.
Exactly one year ago, the Hungarian Competition Authority launched a competition supervision proceeding against Wizz Air Hungary Zrt. The investigation addressed allegations that, between December 2022 and May 2023, the airline concealed from website visitors with return tickets that they could not check in online for free on their return flight, forcing them to pay an airport check-in fee of EUR 40.
The GVH established that Wizz Air Hungary Zrt. engaged in unfair commercial practice. The undertaking acknowledged the technical error during the period in question and did not contest the facts identified by the authority. Wizz Air had already initiated compensation for affected passengers before and during the proceedings, ultimately agreeing to credit several thousand consumers with 120% of the check-in fee – 100% redeemable in cash within one year. As a result of the GVH’s proceeding, the total cash-redeemable compensation exceeds HUF 80 million.
During the proceeding, the Competition Council of the GVH considered a number of circumstances and concluded that the amount of the fine that could be imposed as a result of the infringement would be lower than the total value of the compensation commitment offered by the undertaking taking into account the additional cooperation measures. At the same time, the authority prioritizes ensuring consumers harmed by infringements receive direct monetary refunds whenever possible.
In addition to establishing the infringement, the Competition Council of the GVH mandated that Wizz Air implement and verify the compliance improvements it had undertaken. Furthermore, the airline must notify affected consumers of the credit’s availability and usability via email and its mobile application, and publish general, objective, and comprehensible information regarding this matter on its Hungarian-language website and application. The GVH will verify the accurate implementation of these requirements through its follow-up investigation and can impose a fine should the company fail to comply.
In connection with this case, the national competition authority hereby draws airlines’ attention to the fact that they must publish their ticket sales information in a transparent manner and that they must formulate this information in a way that is easy for consumers to understand and interpret.
The official registration number of the case is VJ/4/2024.
GVH Press
Further information:
Bálint Horváth, Head of Communication +36 20 238 6939