Wizz Air’s Airport Impact Costs Are High

After many weeks of flight delays and cancellations at airports around Europe, the Hungarian low-cost airline is beginning to feel the pressure of the situation. After many weeks of disruptions across the aviation industry in Europe, Wizz Air is beginning to feel the pressure on its finances. According to Reuters, the Hungarian low-cost airline anticipates an operational deficit for its first fiscal quarter, which spans from April to June. This quarter falls inside the company’s fiscal year. This is due to the fact that there have been a significant number of flight cancellations as well as “operational problems” at airports, particularly in the UK.

Challenges in terms of operations

The aviation sector is making an unprecedentedly rapid recovery, and European airports are having a hard time keeping up with the demand. This demonstrates how difficult it is to manage an airport when there aren’t enough personnel and the regulations are constantly being updated.

Politicians and leaders in the airport business have been vocal in their criticism of airport executives. In the Netherlands, the director of the Dutch Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators, Frank Oostdam, criticized the administration of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport for not acting early enough to avoid delays from occurring.

“This is poor planning on our part. Since January, it has been common knowledge that a large number of individuals want to take trips to other countries during the month of May. What you receive is what you deserve if you don’t make the effort to prepare for it.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of Wizz Air, Jozsef Varadi, the airline has the appropriate number of pilots and flight attendants, but there are not enough people working on the ground. Varadi told Reuters that the issue is “coming from the dysfunctioning of the supply chain in certain areas,” and he added that the ongoing situation is “lose-lose” and “highly damaging,” with the only solution being a fully staffed air traffic control. Varadi also stated that the situation is “highly damaging.” Varadi remarked,

“The industry as a whole is experiencing problems with supply chains at airports, including those in our network. Directly impacted are airlines, our workers, and our customers as a result of staffing shortages in areas such as air traffic control, security, and other aspects of the supply chain. We are putting additional resources into place to minimize interruptions, and we strongly encourage all other parties involved to do the same.

Issues with the supply chain

Even though the carrier claims it is on track for a “record summer” due to strong demand, it is facing an operational loss because of operational problems that require it to use more resources to keep its wider network from being disrupted. This is despite the fact that the carrier says it is on track for a “record summer.”

The airline company posted a net loss of 642.5 million euros for the fiscal year that ended in March. The company’s expenditures skyrocketed even more during the fourth quarter as a direct result of the increase in the price of aviation fuel that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Wizz Air, on the other hand, has maintained its optimistic outlook and forecasts a 166 percent rise in passengers through 2021. They anticipate a significant amount of expansion in the first two quarters of this year as well.

Varadi has issued a warning to travelers that airfares are anticipated to climb “in the high single digits” between July and September compared to those observed in 2019, and the company further states that this price hike is expected to take effect by the end of the summer.

“Airlines, our workers, and our customers are all being directly impacted by the staffing shortages that are taking place in air traffic control, security, and other elements of the supply chain.” Despite the fact that we anticipate an operational deficit for the first quarter of FY23, we anticipate high consumer demand for the summer.

“The airline business is nevertheless vulnerable to external factors such as disruptions in air traffic control and ongoing operational challenges within the airport sector, which contribute to an unstable macro environment,” As a direct consequence of this, we will not be offering any more financial advice for the year at this time.