Transport Secretary responds to Wizz Air complaints raised by Hemel Hempstead MP Sir Mike Penning

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has responded to the complaints alleging Wizz Air has ignored Foreign Office lockdown rules barring all but essential travel and lifeline services.

A £300m Covid loan was made available to Wizz Air UK (an offshoot created so that Wizz could continue to operate in the UK post Brexit) in April.

Mr Shapps says in a letter “Individuals are responsible for complying with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s advice about only taking essential journeys. The decision by airlines to operate a limited number of flights to facilitate this essential travel is a commercial decision taken by airlines.”

Residents had complained via Hemel's MP Sir Mike Penning that Wizz flights from Luton Airport to holiday resorts such as Tenerife, Lisbon, Burgas, Larnaca and Oporto should not count as lifeline services, and cannot still be evacuation flights since they have continued up until June.

Mr Shapps’ letter also states “Protecting the health of the UK public will always come first” yet the Advertising Standards Agency has received a complaint about a statement on Wizz Air’s website: “The air inside modern airplanes is as clean as in hospital operating rooms."

The complaint was that this statement is misleading – although aircraft use similar filters to hospitals, an operating theatre is a sterile environment whereas an aircraft cabin is clearly not.

However, the UK Advertising Standards Agency has confirmed it is powerless to take any action because the offending website is registered in Hungary.

John Worth, representing local residents concerned about the environmental impacts of Luton Airport, said: “Despite writing three times to Luton Airport’s MD Alberto Martin about these issues, nothing has changed.

"We are hugely disappointed that an airport which claims to be a good neighbour has so consistently failed to engage properly over a matter which is of significant concern: is it right that Wizz Air UK should be serving holiday destinations with regular flights during lockdown that are clearly not evacuation flights?

"This seems to be a case of bowing to pressure from an airline whose MD has publicly declared contempt for the lockdown.”

Andrew Lambourne, who raised the complaints with the ASA and with MPs on behalf of the members of LADACAN, a group fighting Luton Airport noise, added: "To add insult to injury, an airline which is operating in the UK is able to evade scrutiny of its safety claims because its website is registered in Hungary, but at the same time can access £300m from the Bank of England.”

Sir Mike Penning MP for Hemel Hempstead contacted the Transport Secretary to raise the complaints about Wizz Air.

He said: "I was concerned about Wizz Air and what they were doing and also about the airport and the expansion, which affects my constituents.

"I support Andrew and his campaign because it was wrong what Wizz Air were doing.

"I think the Transport Secretary understands where we were coming from but he also has a lot on his plate at the minute. I wanted to make him aware of what Wizz Air was doing."

A spokesperson for Wizz Air said: “Wizz Air is working with and in full support of the Government, as the airline has provided a service for those who have needed to return home or travel for work.

"For example, Wizz Air’s connections between Luton and destinations such as Tenerife and Lisbon have been used to bring stranded British tourists back home.

"As travel restrictions ease, Wizz Air is expecting the gradual return of leisure travellers, and as such the airline has reinstated a number of routes so that these services are in place for holiday travel later this summer.

"Wizz Air has been leading the industry re-start for almost two months with its stringent health and hygiene measures, which protect both passengers and crew by ensuring the most sanitary conditions on board and minimising physical contact.

"Whilst the HEPA filters on all Wizz Air aircraft already filter out 99.97 per cent of viruses and bacteria from the air, WIZZ aircraft are regularly disinfected with an antiviral solution through an industry leading fogging process, as well as being fully disinfected overnight.

"Wizz Air’s number one priority has been and always will be the safety, health and wellbeing of its passengers and crew.”

In May, passenger numbers at London Luton Airport were down by from 1,636,872 in 2019, to 34,163, in April they were down from 1,535,328 in 2019, to 14,017.

A London Luton Airport spokesperson said: “Every flight operating from London Luton Airport does so in accordance with all Government guidelines and regulations.

"We are proud to have been able to provide a vital lifeline for those who have needed to travel during this difficult time."

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