How to claim compensation from Wizz Air
If a Wizz Air flight arrived three or more hours late, was cancelled at short notice, or you were bumped against your will, you may be owed a fixed cash sum on top of any refund. Wizz turns down or delays a lot of first-time claims, so knowing the exact steps — and how to escalate — is what gets you paid.
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.
What happened to your flight?
Claim up to €600 for a delayed or cancelled flight.
Choose the situation that applies to your flight:
Short answer: Gather your booking reference, boarding passes, flight number, route, and proof of the actual arrival time. Send Wizz Air a written claim that states the amount you want and the legal basis (EU261 or UK261). If Wizz refuses, offers only WIZZ credit, or goes silent, escalate to the UK Civil Aviation Authority for UK departures or to the national enforcement body in the departure country for EU/EEA departures. The statutory amounts are EUR 250–600 or GBP 220–520 by distance, unless the airline proves a genuine extraordinary circumstance.
Before you claim: which rules apply
Which regime governs your flight is decided by the departure airport, not by where Wizz is based:
- Departing an EU or EEA airport (Warsaw, Budapest, Bucharest, Rome, and so on) — EU261 (Regulation (EC) 261/2004) applies, in euros, and you escalate to that country's national enforcement body.
- Departing a UK airport (Luton, Gatwick, Birmingham, and the rest) — UK261 (the retained version of the regulation) applies, in pounds, and the UK Civil Aviation Authority is your regulator.
Because Wizz flies both sides of the Channel, the two legs of a return trip can fall under different regimes: a Luton–Warsaw outbound is a UK261 claim in pounds, while the Warsaw–Luton return is an EU261 claim in euros. Our guide on which rules apply to your Wizz Air flight works through mixed itineraries.
One detail to confirm first: the operating carrier is the one that owes you (C-532/17 Wirth). Wizz operates through separate entities — Wizz Air Hungary, Wizz Air Malta, Wizz Air UK, and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi. Check the "operated by" line on your booking, because that is the company your claim names.
How much you can claim
Compensation is a fixed sum tied to the great-circle distance of the flight, not to your fare. What triggers it is a delay of three hours or more at your final destination (C-402/07 Sturgeon; C-11/11 Folkerts), a cancellation at short notice, or involuntary denied boarding.
| Distance / route | EU261 | UK261 |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | EUR 250 | GBP 220 |
| 1,500–3,500 km, and all intra-EU over 1,500 km | EUR 400 | GBP 350 |
| Over 3,500 km (non-EU) | EUR 600 | GBP 520 |
Under Article 7(2), Wizz may lawfully cut the amount by 50% (for example EUR 600 down to EUR 300) only where it re-routed you and the delay at your destination stayed within set limits — that reduced figure is never a standalone statutory amount. You can check a figure with the flight compensation calculator.
Keep these four things separate, because Wizz often blurs them:
- Compensation — the fixed Article 7 sum above.
- Refund or re-routing — your Article 8 choice if the flight is cancelled or heavily delayed.
- Care — meals, refreshments, and a hotel once waits pass 2, 3, or 4 hours by distance band (Article 9). Care is owed even in extraordinary circumstances (C-12/11 McDonagh).
- Damages — reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket costs the disruption forced on you.
A full breakdown by disruption type sits in our main Wizz Air compensation guide, alongside dedicated delayed flight and cancelled flight guides.
Step by step: how to claim
1. Gather your evidence. Collect your booking reference (PNR), the flight number, the route, and every boarding pass. Most important is proof of the actual arrival time — the moment the aircraft doors opened at your destination, which is what the three-hour test measures, not the scheduled time. A photo of the arrival board, a screenshot from a flight-tracking site, or an email from Wizz confirming the delay all help. If bags or connections were affected, keep receipts.
2. Work out your amount and basis. Confirm the departure airport (EU261 or UK261), the distance band, and the amount from the table. Decide the exact figure you are claiming and the legal ground — for a long delay, "compensation under Article 7 of Regulation 261/2004 (as retained in UK law where relevant), following Sturgeon C-402/07".
3. Submit a written claim to Wizz. Use Wizz Air's online claim form or Customer Relations. State clearly: your flight and date, what went wrong, the actual arrival delay, the amount claimed, and the legal basis. Ask for payment to your original payment method within a reasonable, dated deadline (14 days is a fair prompt). Keep a copy of everything and note the claim reference.
4. Give it time, then chase. Wizz should respond within a few weeks. If it does not, send one firm follow-up quoting your claim reference and the original deadline. The proposed 2026 EU261 reform would set a 30-day airline response deadline, but that is a proposal, not yet law, so do not rely on it.
5. Escalate if refused or ignored. For a UK departure, take it to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (or its approved ADR body). For an EU/EEA departure, complain to the national enforcement body in the country you departed from — for example Poland's ULC for a Warsaw departure. If that fails, a small claims court in the right jurisdiction is the backstop. Time limits to sue vary: roughly six years in England, Wales and Ireland, five in Scotland, and differing periods across EU states — there is no single universal deadline.
Refuse the WIZZ credit trap
When a flight is cancelled, Wizz frequently pushes WIZZ credit (often at a 120% headline value) instead of cash. You do not have to accept it. An Article 8 refund must be paid in money, to your original payment method, within seven days, unless you actively agree to a voucher. A credit can never be forced on you, and clicking through a refund flow that defaults to credit is not agreement. If you were auto-rebooked onto an inconvenient flight you did not want, that does not remove your right to a refund or to compensation either. As background — and dated — the UK CAA took enforcement action in 2023, after which Wizz Air gave undertakings to improve how it pays refunds and EU261 claims and to clear its backlogs. Our refund vs WIZZ credit guide explains how to insist on cash.
When compensation is not due
Compensation (not care) falls away only if Wizz proves an extraordinary circumstance under Article 5(3), and it carries that burden. A routine technical fault is not extraordinary (C-549/07 Wallentin-Hermann; C-257/14 van der Lans), and a strike by the airline's own crew is not extraordinary either — compensation still stands (C-28/20 Airhelp v SAS). Genuine severe weather and independent air-traffic-control restrictions usually are extraordinary. If Wizz cites one of these, ask it to prove the specific cause of your flight's disruption.
Baggage is a different claim
Lost, damaged, or delayed bags fall under the Montreal Convention 1999, not EU261/UK261, with liability capped at about 1,519 SDR per passenger (the ceiling since 28 December 2024 — roughly EUR 1,850 / GBP 1,600, moving with exchange rates). File a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) at the airport, then write to Wizz within 7 days for damage or 21 days for delay, with a two-year long-stop to sue. This is never the 250/400/600 or 220/350/520 figure.
FAQ — Frequently asked questions
How long does Wizz Air take to pay?
Expect a few weeks for a first response. There is no binding statutory response deadline yet; the proposed 2026 reform would add a 30-day one, but it is not law.
Can I still claim if I accepted WIZZ credit under pressure?
Possibly. If you were not clearly given a free cash choice, argue you never validly agreed to a voucher and demand the Article 8 refund in money.
Do I claim against Wizz Air Hungary or Wizz Air UK?
Against whichever entity operated your flight (C-532/17 Wirth) — check the "operated by" line on your booking or boarding pass.
What if my delay was only two hours 50 minutes at landing?
The test is arrival at the final destination. If doors opened under three hours late, no fixed compensation is due, though care and any refund rights can still apply.
Wizz blamed weather. Do I have any claim?
Care (meals, hotel) is still owed. Compensation is only removed if Wizz proves genuine extraordinary weather affected your specific flight; ask for that proof.
Sources
- Regulation (EC) 261/2004, EUR-Lex: 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
- Montreal Convention 1999 (liability limits), ICAO: https://www.icao.int/secretariat/legal/List%20of%20Parties/Mtl99_EN.pdf
This is general information current at 2026, not legal advice; the 2026 EU261 reform is a proposal not yet in force, and amounts, thresholds, and time limits can change.