Wizz Air flight diversion and cancellation

neilys83

Hi all,

In July myself and partner flew with Wizz to Dubrovnik. Outbound the flight was delayed for a couple of hours, then as we reached Dubrovnik it was diverted to Split due to winds. The 20:50 return flight was delayed increasingly during the day, until eventually it was over three hours, then finally some time after midnight when they cancelled it altogether, as the plane we were going to fly on had been diverted to Zagreb, again, because of winds.

I've checked the METAR data, on the outbound flight the winds were 19 knots with gusts of 29, on the return they were around 16 knots with gusts of 28. I have also checked the flight records, and on those days they were the only diverted flights. In fact, on the outbound flight, two flights landed at Dubrovnik firstly whilst we were in a holding pattern, and second one after we started heading towards Split.

Wizz Air instantly rejected my initial claims on their website for compensation claiming "extraordinary circumstances" due to the weather. And for the follow up claims for reimbursement for the replacement flights (with Lufthansa via Munich), hotel and taxi journeys we had to make to a) get to Dubrovnik having been abandoned at Split at midnight and b) get home having been abandoned at Dubrovnik airport at 1am (the next Wizz flight was three days later), they were willing only to pay for the replacement flights (minus the "refund" for the cancelled flight - as Wizz Credits - that they claim to have sent unsolicited to the booking account owned by MyTrip.com that i have no access to).

So I opened cases with Aviation ADR, Wizz Air have now responded again on that platform and ceded ground on the reimbursements (now willing to pay for the hotel and tax journeys), but still denying compensation due to the weather.

Based on the above, are Wizz Air just trying their luck hoping i give in, or will the adjudicator side with them if i reject their settlement offer (which still leaves me out of pocket), in which case would i lose what they have already offered? Any thoughts welcome and much appreciated.

onashoestring

If the planes were diverted because of bad weather you will not be able to claim compensation as this is out of the airlines control - You are entitled to claim for your expenses for the re-routed flight .

Not clear from your post why - If they have agreed to pay for the alternative flights, hotel and taxis- you say that you will still be out of pocket ? 

neilys83

Hi onashoestring, out of pocket still as they have partially refunded the cancelled flight to mytrip.com (who I booked with) as wizz credits, which I am sure will be a long and tedious task to get that money back. Hopefully not impossible, but very difficult given what I have read about others experiences in similar situations. 

daveyjp

Not all airlines have the same operating procedures.

Some may be happy to permit pilots to land in 19 knot winds gusting to 29kt, but it may also depend on wind direction, airport length, aircraft type and experience of the pilots.

Passenger safety ulitimately rests with the captain and they have limited fuel on board.  Holding uses minimal fuel, a missed approach uses much more.  They may have reached the point where a missed approach could have resulted in not enough fuel to reach a suitable alternative airport, so they made the decision to go elsewhere.