Wizz Air compensation calculator: how much are you owed

Short answer: If your Wizz Air flight arrived 3 or more hours late at your final destination, was cancelled at short notice, or you were denied boarding, and no genuine extraordinary circumstance applies, you are usually owed a fixed sum. The amount depends on the flight distance and the departure airport, not on the ticket price. Under EU261 it is EUR 250, EUR 400 or EUR 600. For flights leaving the UK, UK261 applies instead and pays GBP 220, GBP 350 or GBP 520. Work out your distance band, confirm the regime from your departure airport, then check the flight compensation calculator for a figure specific to your route.

Free eligibility check

Check your case in the form

Enter your route, date and type of disruption. We will check whether your case qualifies for a claim under EU 261/2004 or UK261.

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What happened to your flight?

Claim up to €600 for a delayed or cancelled flight.

Choose the situation that applies to your flight:

The three things that set the amount

Compensation under Regulation (EC) 261/2004 (and its retained UK equivalent, UK261) is a flat, pre-set sum. Three factors decide it:

  1. Distance of the flight. This is measured as the great-circle distance between your departure and final-destination airports, not the airline's routing.
  2. Departure airport, which fixes the regime. A flight departing an EU or EEA airport falls under EU261 and pays in euros, enforced by that country's national enforcement body. A flight departing a UK airport falls under UK261 and pays in pounds, enforced by the UK Civil Aviation Authority. Wizz Air flies both sides of this line, so an outbound and a return leg on the same trip can sit under different regimes.
  3. The delay at the final destination. The fixed sum is only triggered once you actually arrive 3 or more hours late at your final destination (Folkerts, C-11/11). A long delay is treated the same way as a cancellation for compensation purposes once it passes that 3-hour mark (Sturgeon, C-402/07).

The distance bands

Under EU261, for a departure from an EU/EEA airport:

  • EUR 250 — flights of 1,500 km or less.
  • EUR 400 — flights between 1,500 km and 3,500 km, and all flights within the EU over 1,500 km.
  • EUR 600 — flights over 3,500 km where at least one end is outside the EU.

Under UK261, for a departure from a UK airport, the same distance bands apply but the sums are in pounds:

  • GBP 220 — up to 1,500 km.
  • GBP 350 — 1,500 km to 3,500 km.
  • GBP 520 — over 3,500 km.

Where common Wizz Air routes fall

Wizz Air's network is mostly short and medium haul, so most claims land in the two lower bands. A few worked examples:

  • London Luton to Katowice (about 1,450 km) is just inside the shortest band. It departs the UK, so UK261 applies at GBP 220; the Katowice-to-Luton return departs the EU and pays EUR 250 under EU261.
  • London Gatwick to Bucharest (roughly 2,100 km) sits in the middle band: GBP 350 outbound, EUR 400 on the return from Romania.
  • Budapest or Warsaw to the Canary Islands runs well over 3,500 km, yet because both ends lie inside the EU the amount is capped at EUR 400 — an intra-EU flight never reaches the top band, however far it flies.
  • The EUR 600 band only applies to a flight over 3,500 km with one end outside the EU, such as a long-haul route to the Gulf. As Wizz Air's core network is short and medium haul, most claims never reach it.
  • Rome to London, Vienna to London and similar city pairs typically fall in the EUR 250 / GBP 220 band each way, with the regime flipping depending on which end you flew from.

Because the euro and pound figures are set by law, they do not rise with a more expensive fare or fall with a cheap one. A GBP 30 Wizz seat and a GBP 200 Wizz seat on the same delayed flight are owed the same amount.

The 50% reduction under Article 7(2)

There is one situation where a lower figure is lawful. Under Article 7(2), if the airline offers re-routing and you still reach your final destination within a set time window of the original arrival, it may halve the compensation. So a EUR 600 entitlement can be reduced to EUR 300, EUR 400 to EUR 200, and EUR 250 to EUR 125 (with the pound equivalents halving in the same way).

This is the only context in which EUR 300 is a correct number. EUR 300 is never a standalone statutory amount and neither is EUR 500. If an airline quotes you EUR 300, it should be because it re-routed you inside the Article 7(2) window on a long-haul flight, not as a generic offer. The calculator will flag when a reduction could apply to your route.

When compensation is not due

The fixed sum falls away if the airline proves the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances it could not have avoided (Article 5(3)). This is a narrow exception and the burden of proof is on Wizz Air.

  • A routine technical fault is not extraordinary (Wallentin-Hermann, C-549/07; van der Lans, C-257/14).
  • A strike by the airline's own crew is not extraordinary, and compensation is still due (Airhelp v SAS, C-28/20).
  • Genuinely severe weather, or an independent air-traffic-control restriction, usually is extraordinary.

Note also that extraordinary circumstances only remove the compensation. Your right to care — meals, refreshments and a hotel where needed (Article 9) — and your right to a refund or re-routing (Article 8) continue regardless.

Don't confuse compensation with a refund or a Wizz credit

Compensation is separate from getting your money back. If your flight is cancelled, you can choose a full refund of the unused ticket, paid in money to your original payment method within 7 days, or re-routing. A WIZZ credit (often promoted at 120% of the fare) can never be forced on you in place of that cash refund — you have to agree to it. For the full picture, see refund vs Wizz credit. As background, the UK CAA took enforcement action in 2023, with Wizz Air giving undertakings to improve how it pays refunds and EU261 claims and to clear its backlog.

Being auto-rebooked onto an inconvenient later flight does not remove your right to a refund or, where the delay is long enough, to compensation.

Baggage is a completely different calculation

If your claim is about lost, damaged or delayed luggage, none of the figures above apply. Baggage falls under the Montreal Convention 1999, with liability capped at roughly 1,519 SDR per passenger (the ceiling in force since 28 December 2024, around EUR 1,850 or GBP 1,600, moving with exchange rates). File a Property Irregularity Report at the airport, then write to the airline within 7 days for damage and 21 days for delay. This is never the 250/400/600 or 220/350/520 figure.

FAQ — Frequently asked questions

How is the distance measured for my Wizz flight?

By the great-circle distance between the departure airport and your final destination, not the length of the flown path or a connection detour.

Does a cheaper Wizz ticket mean less compensation?

No. The euro and pound sums are fixed by distance band and are the same whatever you paid.

My outbound was under EU261 and the return under UK261 — is that right?

Yes. The departure airport sets the regime, so a UK-departing leg is UK261 in pounds and an EU-departing leg is EU261 in euros. See UK261 vs EU261.

Is EUR 300 a normal compensation amount?

Only as the Article 7(2) 50% reduction of a EUR 600 entitlement after timely re-routing. It is not a standalone statutory figure.

What if Wizz blames the weather?

Weather can be extraordinary and remove compensation, but Wizz must prove it. A technical fault or its own crew's strike does not qualify. More detail in delayed flight compensation and cancelled flight compensation, and the main Wizz Air guide.

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

This is general information current as of 2026, not legal advice; the 2026 EU261 reform is a proposal and not yet in force, so any longer delay thresholds or changed amounts under it do not yet apply.