Wizz Air has cancelled a “large number” of flights to and from Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
The Hungarian ultra-low-cost carrier has blamed the cancellations on the airport for not guaranteeing the terms of its commercial agreement with the airline.
Unexpected cancellations for hundreds of travellers
The cancellations to and from Doncaster Sheffield will take effect from 10 June and involves 13 European destinations.
Not all Wizz Air (stylised as W!ZZ Air) destinations from Doncaster Sheffield are affected. Nine destinations will remain the same regardless of the dispute.
In a statement, Wizz Air said:
“The decision is unfortunately a result of Doncaster Sheffield Airport indicating that it is unable to guarantee the terms of its commercial agreement with Wizz Air. Our priority is to minimize the overall disruption to our UK customers and protect the employment of our crew. As such, Doncaster Sheffield Airport-based pilots and cabin crew have today received notification of this news, and have been offered the opportunity to fly out of another base in the UK.”
The airline has also apologised to the passengers affected and said that it would be contacting them via email to talk through their options and offer advice.
Passengers impacted by the cancellations will be very pleased to know that they will be able to receive a full refund, airline credit or offered the ability to rebook.
A spokesperson for the Hungarian airline said that it was with “deep regret” that the carrier had to take the “difficult but responsible” decision to cancel a large number of Wizz Air flights to and from Doncaster Sheffield.
The Budapest-based airline added that considering the struggles facing the aviation industry currently (focusing particularly on staff shortages), its decision to cancel a large number of flights has the second positive effect of stabilising its operations at other UK bases to “help minimise disruption and delay as much as possible.”
Doncaster Sheffield Airport is commonly referred to as Robin Hood Airport.
Rather uniquely, the South Yorkshire airport is one of the few in the UK that has managed to avoid the majority of the delays and disruptions affecting many UK airports as resources fail to meet fierce demand.
In response to Wizz Air’s mass cancellations, Doncaster Sheffield has said in a statement that it was not aware of Wizz Air’s decision to cancel such a large number of flights until the airline announced it to the public:
“Regrettably, it appears that Wizz Air has taken the decision to cancel a large number of flights at Doncaster Sheffield Airport from 10 June 2022. Unfortunately, DSA only became aware of this decision through a statement to the media this afternoon. We are attempting to obtain further clarification from the airline on their decision and its impact on passengers.”
Have you been affected by these cancellations? Let us know in the comments below.
Unfortunately for us Wizz air have cancelled our flight from the 5th of June, without prior notification or a motive, from Bucharest to Doncaster, with no assistance offered in order to solve the situation. They kept us for more than 7 hours there in total,and after a long queue, they found us another flight, 2 days after our initial flight. They did not give us water or any food or even a voucher as compensation, even if it was 30 degrees Celsius outside. All the passengers in this cancelled flight were very angry but we still don’t know if our rescheduled flight will work normally or whether there will another unplanned for cancellation.
They have cancelled my flight twice this year,I will never use them again,price for suitcase is redickuless