Wizz Air cancelled flight compensation

Two separate things: your ticket back, and compensation on top

A cancellation triggers a bundle of rights under Regulation (EC) 261/2004 (in the UK, retained as UK261). Keep them separate in your head, because Wizz sometimes blurs them.

• Refund or re-routing (Article 8) deals with getting you either your money back or to your destination. You choose which.
• Compensation (Article 7) is a separate fixed sum for the disruption itself.
• Care (Article 9) covers meals, phone calls and, if you are rebooked to a later flight, a hotel while you wait.
• Damages are separate again: reasonable out-of-pocket costs you had to spend because of the cancellation.

You do not have to give up one to get another. A refund does not cancel your compensation, and compensation does not replace your refund.

Refund or re-routing: the choice is yours, not Wizz's

Under Article 8 the airline must offer you a genuine choice:

1. a full refund of the unused part of the ticket, within 7 days, to the card or account you paid with; or
2. re-routing to your final destination at the earliest opportunity; or
3. re-routing at a later date that suits you, subject to seat availability.

The refund must be paid in money. An airline can only give you a voucher or WIZZ credit instead if you actively agree to it. Silence, a pre-ticked box, or an app that auto-applies credit does not count as agreement. If Wizz drops a 120% WIZZ credit into your account, that does not extinguish your right to a cash refund — you can still ask for the money. Our guide on refund vs WIZZ credit walks through exactly how to push back.

If Wizz automatically rebooks you onto an inconvenient flight (a different airport, a long layover, the next day), that auto-rebooking does not remove your right to reject it and take the cash refund instead, nor does it remove any compensation you are owed.

When compensation is also due: the Article 5(1)(c) notice windows

Whether fixed compensation is payable on a cancellation turns mainly on how much notice Wizz gave you:

• 14 days or more before departure: no compensation. Wizz gave you fair warning.
• Between 14 and 7 days before departure: compensation is due unless Wizz offered re-routing that departs no more than 2 hours early and gets you to your destination less than 4 hours after your original arrival.
• Less than 7 days before departure: compensation is due unless the re-routing departs no more than 1 hour early and arrives less than 2 hours after your original arrival.

So a last-minute cancellation with a poor replacement flight almost always attracts compensation. A cancellation with a near-identical alternative may not.

The amounts follow the distance of the flight:

• EUR 250 for flights up to 1,500 km;
• EUR 400 for flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and for all intra-EU flights over 1,500 km;
• EUR 600 for other flights over 3,500 km.

For flights departing a UK airport, UK261 applies instead and the figures are GBP 220 / GBP 350 / GBP 520 across the same distance bands. Which regime applies is decided by your departure airport: leave from an EU/EEA airport and you are under EU261 with the national enforcement body; leave from the UK and you are under UK261 with the Civil Aviation Authority. Because Wizz flies both directions, your outbound and return legs can fall under different regimes — see UK261 vs EU261: which applies. You can check your band with the flight compensation calculator.

One caveat on amounts: under Article 7(2), if Wizz re-routes you and you still arrive within a defined window, it may halve the compensation (for example EUR 600 becomes EUR 300). EUR 300 and EUR 500 are never standalone statutory figures — they only ever appear as a 50% reduction.

Extraordinary circumstances: when Wizz can refuse compensation

Compensation is not due if the cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures (Article 5(3)). The airline has to prove this.

• Not extraordinary: routine technical or mechanical faults (Wallentin-Hermann C-549/07; van der Lans C-257/14), and a strike by Wizz's own crew (Airhelp v SAS C-28/20). Compensation is still owed.
• Usually extraordinary: genuine severe weather, and air traffic control restrictions imposed independently of the airline (McDonagh C-12/11 discusses the weather context).

Even where circumstances are extraordinary and no compensation is payable, your right to a refund or re-routing and your right to care do not disappear.

Your right to care while you wait

If you accept re-routing to a later flight, Wizz must look after you in the meantime under Article 9: meals and refreshments proportionate to the wait, two phone calls or emails, and hotel accommodation plus transfers if you have to stay overnight. If Wizz fails to provide this and you pay for a reasonable meal or hotel yourself, keep every receipt and claim it back as damages.

The Wizz-specific angle

Wizz Air operates through separate entities — Wizz Air Hungary, Wizz Air Malta, Wizz Air UK and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi. The operating carrier on your specific flight is the one that owes you (Wirth C-532/17); check your booking to see which entity flew it. As background, in 2023 the UK CAA took enforcement action and Wizz Air gave undertakings to improve how it pays refunds and EU261 claims and to clear its backlog. That history is a reason to be firm: state clearly that you want a cash settlement, not credit.

For the wider picture, see the Wizz Air flight compensation hub and the companion guide on a delayed Wizz Air flight.

FAQ

Wizz gave me a 120% WIZZ credit — do I have to keep it?

No. A refund must be paid in money unless you agree to a voucher. You can decline the credit and request the cash to your original payment method within 7 days.

Wizz cancelled and rebooked me automatically. Can I still get a refund?

Yes. If the replacement flight does not suit you, you can reject it and take the refund instead. Auto-rebooking does not remove your Article 8 choice.

I was told only 5 days before departure — am I owed compensation?

Likely yes, unless the alternative flight Wizz offered departs no more than 1 hour early and arrives less than 2 hours after your original time, or the cause was genuinely extraordinary.

How long do I have to bring a claim?

It depends on where you sue — roughly 6 years in England, Wales and Ireland, 5 years in Scotland, and varying periods across EU states. There is no single universal deadline.

Is the baggage cap the same as this compensation?

No. Lost or damaged baggage is governed by the Montreal Convention (a separate regime, capped at about 1,519 SDR per passenger since 28 December 2024) and never uses the 250/400/600 or 220/350/520 figures.

Sources

• Regulation (EC) 261/2004, full text: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32004R0261
• UK Civil Aviation Authority — delays and cancellations: https://www.caa.co.uk/passengers/resolving-travel-problems/delays-cancellations/
• European Commission — air passenger rights: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/air/index_en.htm
• Court of Justice of the EU case law (Sturgeon C-402/07; Wallentin-Hermann C-549/07; Airhelp v SAS C-28/20): https://curia.europa.eu/

This guide reflects the legal position as at 2026. The proposed 2026 reform of Regulation 261/2004 (longer delay thresholds, a nine-month claim window and a 30-day airline response deadline) is a proposal and is not yet law. This is general information, not legal advice.