Wizz Air is still flying, and still growing.
If you are searching because you heard Wizz Air shut down, you are thinking of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, a separate joint-venture airline that closed in September 2025. The main group carried 21.2 million passengers in the three months to 30 June 2026, up 25% year on year.
It is Europe’s largest ultra-low-cost carrier outside Ryanair, built around Budapest and a long list of bases across Central and Eastern Europe, Italy, the UK and now Spain.
Latest Wizz Air updates
Last updated: 14 August 2026.
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has closed. Wizz Air has not
These are two different airlines and the distinction matters. Wizz Air Abu Dhabi was a joint venture with Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, operating on its own UAE air operator’s certificate. It stopped flying on 1 September 2025, with Wizz Air citing engine reliability in hot climates, regional geopolitical instability and regulatory barriers as part of a wider realignment towards Central and Eastern Europe.
Wizz Air Hungary, the main airline, continues to operate normally across Europe, and it has kept serving Abu Dhabi as an inbound destination from selected European bases. If you booked with the Abu Dhabi carrier, our guide to what changed at Abu Dhabi and the alternatives covers the detail.
What Wizz Air fares look like right now
We sampled live one-way economy fares from real searches on Wego on 14 August 2026, for travel on 15 September 2026, filtered to Wizz Air nonstop flights only. Budapest to Athens came out cheapest at $25, and Budapest to Barcelona the priciest at $81.
Every figure above is a base fare with the free under-seat bag only. Add a cabin trolley and a checked bag and the total can comfortably double on the cheapest sectors. One route stood out in the same sample: Budapest to Tel Aviv started at $699 one way, a reminder that fares on capacity-constrained routes bear no relation to the airline’s European pricing.
Wizz Air baggage rules in 2026
On an ultra-low-cost carrier the baggage policy is the product. Wizz Air’s current allowances, taken from its own booking system, are:
- Free with every fare: one under-seat bag up to 40 x 30 x 20 cm and 10 kg. It goes under the seat in front of you, never in the overhead locker.
- WIZZ Priority: adds a cabin trolley up to 55 x 40 x 23 cm and 10 kg, plus priority boarding. You keep the free under-seat bag as well, so Priority means two pieces in the cabin.
- Checked baggage: sold in 10 kg, 20 kg, 26 kg and 32 kg bands, up to six pieces per passenger. Prices are dynamic by route and date rather than fixed.
The size limits are enforced at the gate with a sizer, and an oversized bag is charged at airport rates. Check-in is the other trap. On the cheapest bundles, online check-in only opens 24 hours before departure. Paying for airport check-in during booking costs around €13, while turning up without having checked in at all attracts a fee of €40 to €50 depending on the market.
What this means for your trip: price a Wizz Air fare with the bags you will actually carry before comparing it against a full-service airline. A $25 base fare with Priority and a 20 kg checked bag lands in a very different place. Our comparison of European budget airlines works through the same maths across carriers.
Why some Wizz Air aircraft are grounded
Almost every decision Wizz Air has made in the past two years traces back to the Pratt & Whitney engines on its A320neo-family fleet. A manufacturing fault in the turbines forced accelerated inspections, leaving aircraft on the ground waiting for workshop slots.
At the end of June 2026 the airline had 27 aircraft grounded for engine reasons, down from 41 a year before, and it expects the whole affected fleet to be flying again by the end of 2027. Fewer aircraft means thinner schedules, which is the part that reaches passengers.
Those inspections run far more frequently in hot, dusty conditions, which is a large part of why the Gulf operation was unwound and why long, thin A321XLR missions lost their appeal. Wizz Air cut its A321XLR order from 47 aircraft to 11 and converted the rest to standard A321neos. On safety, we looked at the full record in our review of Wizz Air’s safety data.
WIZZ MultiPass and All You Can Fly
All You Can Fly costs a one-off €499 voucher fee for 365 days, then €9.99 per flight segment. It covers international Wizz Air routes and excludes Italian domestic flights. The catch is the booking window: you can only book between 72 hours and 3 hours before departure, from a separate availability pool. Baggage follows the Basic fare, so the free under-seat bag only. It renews automatically, and more than two no-shows in your first year cancels the membership.
WIZZ MultiPass is a 12-month subscription that lets you fly once a month for a fixed monthly fee regardless of the fare, with a higher first-month payment followed by 11 fixed instalments including taxes. Both products commit you for a full year, so treat them as annual purchases.
Delays, cancellations and what you can claim
Most of Wizz Air’s network sits inside the EU, so Regulation EC261 applies to flights departing an EU airport and to flights arriving in the EU on Wizz Air. UK departures fall under UK261. That means compensation of €250 to €600 for cancellations at short notice and arrival delays of three hours or more, unless the airline can show extraordinary circumstances, plus meals, communications and hotel accommodation for long waits regardless of cause.
Wizz Air also sells an optional On-Time Guarantee. It pays €100 in WIZZ credit if your flight arrives an hour or more late or is cancelled, and it explicitly covers causes outside the airline’s control such as weather and strikes. It does not apply to delays you were told about at least 48 hours in advance. The payout is WIZZ credit, spendable only on Wizz Air flights and services, and it sits alongside your statutory EC261 rights.
Submit through the airline’s own claim form first, keep your boarding pass and any delay notification, and escalate to the national enforcement body if the airline does not respond.
Our guides to UK261 compensation rules and delay compensation by country set out the thresholds and amounts.
Frequently asked questions
Is Wizz Air still flying in 2026?
Yes. Wizz Air Hungary and its UK and Malta subsidiaries operate normally, carrying 21.2 million passengers in the quarter to 30 June 2026 and opening new bases in Palermo, Madrid, Valencia and Brasov. The airline that stopped flying was Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, a separate UAE joint venture, on 1 September 2025.
What size cabin bag can I take on Wizz Air for free?
One under-seat bag measuring up to 40 x 30 x 20 cm and weighing up to 10 kg is included in every fare. A larger 55 x 40 x 23 cm trolley in the overhead locker requires WIZZ Priority, which is paid separately.
Is Wizz Air in financial trouble?
It is loss-making, and it is liquid. The quarter to 30 June 2026 produced a €198.6 million loss driven by a 39% rise in fuel costs, and the airline ended the period with €2.21 billion in cash. The thing that actually shows up in your schedule is not the loss but the engine groundings behind it.
Why did Wizz Air cancel its Saudi Arabia flights?
London Gatwick to Jeddah and Medina came off sale in July 2026 as part of a wider retreat from long-haul flying. Wizz Air cut its A321XLR order from 47 aircraft to 11 and now treats the remaining XLRs as ordinary A321neos for short European sectors, citing regional instability, regulatory friction and accelerated engine wear in hot climates.
Can I claim EU261 compensation from Wizz Air?
Yes, where the flight departs an EU airport or arrives in the EU on Wizz Air. UK261 applies to UK departures. Bands run from €250 to €600 by distance, for cancellations at short notice and arrival delays of three hours or more, subject to the extraordinary circumstances defence. File through the airline’s claim form and escalate to the relevant national enforcement body if it is not resolved.
Is All You Can Fly worth €499?
It depends entirely on how flexible you are. Bookings open only 72 hours before departure and close 3 hours out, seats come from a restricted pool, and each segment costs a further €9.99. If your travel is spontaneous and you fly Wizz Air many times a year it can pay back quickly. If you need to plan trips weeks ahead, it will not.
Sources
- Wizz Air Holdings Q1 F27 results presentation, 6 August 2026 (quarterly loss, fuel costs, passengers, cash, engine groundings, fleet plan)
- Aviation Week (Brasov base and Romanian network)
- Aviation Week (Madrid and Valencia bases, winter route list)
- Aviation Week (A321XLR strategy and Ian Malin comments)
- Aviation24.be (Palermo base opening)
- Wizz Air newsroom (London Luton slots, based aircraft and six new routes)
- Wizz Air All You Can Fly terms (€499 voucher fee, €9.99 per segment, booking window, exclusions)
- Wizz Air WIZZ MultiPass terms (subscription structure and first-month fee)
- Business Traveller (Wizz Air Abu Dhabi closure, 1 September 2025)
- UK Civil Aviation Authority (enforcement action and the review of rejected compensation claims)
- Wego flight search data, fares sampled 14 August 2026 (fare figures in the chart)
The information in this article is accurate as of 14 August 2026. Routes, fares and airline policies change frequently, so confirm details with the airline before booking.
