Their trip got cancelled, but this dad didn’t stop there

On holiday in Faro, Portugal, with his wife and their three daughters. That was the plan for Russell Quirk of Brentwood, UK, in January 2021. Until he woke up the morning of their departure and saw a message from Wizz Air. He added, “Your flight has been cancelled.” BBC. But we didn’t get an explanation. No replacement offer or apology either. I had to wake my 3 daughters up and tell them we weren’t going on vacation. They were very angry.”

The man had pre-selected hotels, some transfers, and an airport lounge, so he began looking for another flight. That trip, along with the cost of an unused hotel room and other expenses, cost him £4,500 (€5,000), according to his own account.

Money back

When they get home, he decides to ask Wizz Air for his money. Only after two months of persistence was he able to get the tickets back for the canceled flight. But the extra £4,500 he had spent, he wanted it back too. And so he sent bailiffs to the Wizz Air office at Luton Airport. “They were given a choice: give the money, or the bailiffs would take it in the form of goods. It could have been chairs, computers, tables, or an airplane,” Quirk says. To his disappointment, they were given the money, he jokes.

“Shocking, messy and dirty,” he calls Wizz Air and what happened. “I feel like companies are increasingly thinking they can treat customers like trash. I’m determined not to let that happen. My message is: If you persevere, even the big companies will give you what you’re entitled to.”

A Wizz Air spokesperson said it was an unfortunate accident and that the company had made a mistake. “We didn’t respond quickly enough, and we’re sorry.”