Business 6 January 2026, 4:18pm

Wizz Air will return to Ukraine as soon as possible - CEO

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Wizz Air will return to Ukraine as soon as possible, the CEO of the no-frills carrier said in an interview with Telex G7. József Váradi also said that the compensation received from the manufacturer for engine problems does not cover lost revenue and additional costs. He added that, due to the changed geopolitical environment and supplier issues, growth of around 10% is realistic at present, but Central and Eastern Europe offer good opportunities, given that the number of people flying is much lower than in Western Europe in proportion to the population.

Ukraine is a strategic issue for Wizz Air, and the airline will return to the country as soon as possible. Wizz Air also flew to Russia prior to the war. Whether or not it will resume flights there depends on the extent to which Russia reopens once the war is over, given that European airlines are currently prohibited from flying there.

According to József Váradi, if the baggage regulations come into force after the European Parliament voted that everyone can take one piece of hand luggage and a 7 kg suitcase on board European flights free of charge, this would result in higher ticket prices. This means that even those who do not take luggage with them would have to pay for it.

He added that this would not be feasible on a Wizz Air aircraft, as it would be physically impossible to fit so many bags on board. Although fines have already been imposed on Spanish airlines for this reason, they have all been overturned, meaning the regulation is not legally enforceable.

Regarding the engine problems, József Váradi said that, although they will receive compensation from the manufacturer, it will only cover the direct costs associated with the shutdown of the engines and will not make up for the loss of revenue.

The problem has resulted in secondary costs and lost opportunities, such as having to shut down GTF engines, which represent a higher level of technology and have lower unit operating costs. As a result, older CEO aircraft had to be used instead, consuming 17% more fuel and incurring higher maintenance costs due to their age.

Furthermore, when the engine problem grounded a fifth of the fleet overnight, 20% of the pilots and flight attendants were also grounded. The airline still had to pay them if it didn't want to lose them. Overall, the compensation received from the engine manufacturer covered around half of the costs.

Recent announcements, such as the closure of bases and the sale of some aircraft, are a response to changed circumstances and mean that plans have had to be adjusted. Given the current geopolitical situation and issues with suppliers, the previous growth plan of 15-20%, which the airline programmed in 2017 with the delivery of its fleet, is no longer realistic. At that time, there were no issues in Ukraine or the Middle East, nor any problems with the engines. Now, however, a growth rate of around 10% is more realistic.

József Váradi justifies Wizz Air's focus on Central and Eastern Europe by pointing out that, proportionally, only about a third as many people fly in the region as in Western Europe. If the economy grows, people's standard of living and disposable income will increase, which will benefit this industry.

Even though young travellers were the main customer base at the start, retired travellers have also appeared. According to József Váradi, even if Wizz Air only deployed aircraft to Central and Eastern Europe over the next 10 years, the company would still be able to achieve its planned growth of 10–12%.