Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Wizz Air cancellations causing 'major impact' to airport

As previously reported, Wizz Air blamed the airport for the cancellations, claiming it said it could not guarantee its commercial agreement with the airline.

Affected flights include Doncaster Sheffield Airport to Lanzarote, Malaga, Alicante, Fuerteventura (winter schedule only), Larnaca, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife, Dalaman, Faro, Kosice (winter schedule only), Gran Canaria (winter schedule only), Riga (winter schedule only), and Lublin (winter schedule only).

Wizz Air has been emailing passengers, offering rebooking options, a refund or airline credit worth 120 per cent of the air fare.

The airport has accused Wizz Air of sacrificing routes from Doncaster Sheffield in order to better protect its routes at other airports.

A spokesperson said: “Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) is disappointed that Wizz Air has, without prior notice, permanently cancelled 13 summer and winter routes, effective from June 10, 2022.

“It is particularly distressing for our passengers that so many flights and bookings have been axed at such short notice.

“Although the Wizz Air announcement undoubtedly has substantial impact on DSA, our priority remains on minimising the impact of the Wizz Air decision on our passengers, wherever possible.

“Airlines, under pressure to stabilise their post-Covid operations, are consolidating resources at fewer airports to improve resilience in their strained networks.

Tui back to business as usual

“Wizz Air acknowledged this as a significant factor in their decision when they stated that ‘this decision stabilises our operations at other UK bases to help minimise disruption and delay as much as possible’.

“Unfortunately, it appears that DSA services have been sacrificed in order to support routes at other UK airports.

“Whilst the extraordinary circumstances currently faced by the industry are recognised, DSA has been a long-term supporter and sponsor of Wizz Air in the UK market, and for its part, has fulfilled in whole its obligations within the commercial agreement, including investing heavily in financial incentives and Terminal upgrade works in support of a multi-year deal signed only last year.”

“It is regrettable that performance by Wizz of its own commitments has not been reciprocated.”

For its part, Wizz Air says Doncaster Sheffield Airport has said it can’t guarantee its commercial agreement and is giving its air crew the option to move to a different airport.

The firm said: “We sincerely apologise to our customers in Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire for the inconvenience this has caused.”

Meanwhile, Tui, which also flies out of the airport, says it’s back to business as usual.

The firm said: “The start of the half-term holidays was an extremely busy time which put the entire travel industry under immense pressure, with staff shortages, supply chain issues and general operational disruption adding to the challenges.

“We can reassure our customers that this was an extraordinary situation, and our flights are now operating as normal. ”

UK passengers faced long queues at most airports over half term as well as flight cancellations as staff shortages created mainly by the pandemic meant the industry struggled to cope with huge demand.

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