Wizz Air says refund-dodging accusations are 'nonsense'

Wizz Air has dismissed critics of its decision to restart its UK flights in May at the peak of the pandemic as “naysayers”. Owain Jones, the low-cost airline’s UK managing director, also said accusations that the carrier resumed services early to avoid paying out refunds for cancelled flights are “nonsense”. The airline was branded “hugely irresponsible” for launching services from London Luton while the UK was still under lockdown. Consumer group Which? said it was a “cynical cash grab” as Wizz would not need to pay out refunds to services that went ahead. “There will always be naysayers,” Jones said, adding that Wizz wanted to resume flights as soon as possible to help repatriate stranded foreigners and assist essential workers. He said the accusations that the airline was trying to avoid paying out refunds was “fanciful thinking from people who might not understand how to run a business”. “If you fly an airline to avoid making refunds you would probably quite quickly use all your money up. It’s nonsense,” he said. “What we did was during April, we were looking very much at how we could get things back in the air as soon as possible, that’s what our customers wanted.” Jones said Wizz’s early restart meant it became a blueprint for other carriers in Europe. He said his cabin crew and customers have become accustomed to the “new normal” in terms of face masks and social distancing, but he does not believe the guidelines are here to stay.<br/>