Wizz Air passenger numbers dip as engine issues constrain capacity

Wizz Air said passenger numbers in July as it was forced to constrain capacity due to long-running issues with some of its engines.

It came after the Hungarian budget carrier on Thursday posted a sharp dip in quarterly profit as it grappled with groundings of its aircraft stemming from the problems.

Some 5.9m passengers flew with Wizz last month, down 1.4 per cent on last year’s 6m and at a load factor of 93.8 per cent. Capacity, the total number of seats, dipped 0.3 per cent in the same period to 6.3m.

The airline’s rolling 12-month passenger total now sits at 62m, still up 11.9 per cent year-on-year.

Airbus’s engine supplier Pratt and Whitney began recalling planes for inspection last year after concerns were raised over the contents of powdered metal used in the production of geared turbofan (GTF) engines.

Wizz Air cut capacity by 10 per cent in 2023 and has had to pay out for replacement planes to make up for the groundings.

Its shares have fallen over 32 per cent this year to date despite booming demand for travel throughout Europe.

London-listed Wizz’s budget rival Ryanair also reported monthly traffic numbers on Friday morning.

The Irish airline carried 20.2m passengers over the month, up eight per cent year-on-year and at a load factor of 96 per cent.

It said around 110,500 flights were operated in July.