Wizz Air sees profit slump after planes grounded over engine issues
The low-cost European airline was forced to ground an average of 44 planes
Wizz Air has reported a significant slump in annual profits, with operating profits dropping by 62% to €167.5 million (£141 million). The budget airline attributed the downturn to a fifth of its fleet being grounded due to engine issues.
Despite these challenges, the Hungarian company highlighted that it flew a record 63.4 million passengers, contributing to a 3.8% increase in overall revenue. The airline acknowledged the "significant challenges" it faced throughout the year, but remained optimistic about its capacity to serve more passengers than ever before.
The low-cost European airline was forced to ground an average of 44 planes over the year because of issues with the engines, which are made by US aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney.
This amounted to almost a fifth of the entire fleet.
Wizz secured a two-year compensation package with Pratt & Whitney at the end of 2024 over the grounding of Airbus A320neo aircraft.
It said the support was set to mitigate “some, but not all, of the operational and financial impacts on the business”.
Jozsef Varadi, Wizz Air’s chief executive, said: “Despite the unproductivity of a grounded fleet, we successfully delivered a second consecutive year of profitability.
“The number of grounded aircraft will start reducing in both absolute and relative terms and this is why we have reached a transformation point.”
It had 37 planes on the ground last month, and is expecting roughly 34 to remain grounded by the end of September.