A group of senior Wizz Air pilots have warned of serious fatigue issues at the airline which they say has become a major safety concern.
The Mirror has spoken to three current and one former pilot working for the budget airline in the UK and across Europe about conditions at the Hungarian company, which has pushed back on some of their claims, “categorically” rejecting any concerns about a lack of safety.
The pilots all raised concerns with flight rosters, the amount they’re required to work, levels of pay and morale, and were united in their predictions that the situation at Wizz Air would get worse.
One senior Wizz Air pilot, Andrew*, has gone as far as to call on potential customers to avoid travelling with Wizz Air, implying that it may be immoral to do so based on how staff are treated.
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He told the Mirror that the workload is “overwhelming” in the summertime, and sometimes “really unsafe”.
While Andrew refuses to fly over his personal limits, other pilots with less experience are pressured into working when they’re too tired or should be on rest days, he claimed.
The pilot, who has more than 30 years experience flying commercial jets, claimed that official fatigue requirements are met.
But added staff are pushed to their absolute limits in a low-morale, comparatively low-pay environment in which half of their salaries are only received if they fly.
Andrew went on to claim Wizz Air fostered a culture in which more recently qualified pilots from parts of Europe with lower average incomes were used to keep fares at the ultra-budget airline as low as possible.
This includes giving trainee pilots total take-home pay of around £17,000, despite them having invested often upwards of £100,000 to get their licences.
“They expect you to go the extra mile, they say ‘we’re a family’, but it’s bulls**t,” he…
