Wizz Air says 40 planes to remain grounded via fiscal 2026 amid engine woes

(Reuters) – Wizz Air on Tuesday mentioned it had signed a brand new assist settlement with defence and aerospace agency RTX’s Pratt & Whitney amid engine woes, including that it expects 40 of its planes to remain grounded via fiscal yr 2026.

The low-cost Hungarian airline mentioned Pratt & Whitney will present business assist, together with operational help and a compensation package deal for direct prices associated to grounded plane, via the top of 2026.

Budapest-headquartered Wizz Air, which flies an all-Airbus fleet, has needed to navigate further challenges after Pratt & Whitney in 2023 mentioned greater than 1,000 engines wanted to be faraway from Airbus planes and checked for microscopic cracks.

In September 2023, Wizz Air had estimated a possible 10% capability discount within the second half of fiscal 2024, because of the inspection of Pratt & Whitney’s turbofans.

In November this yr, it posted a bigger-than-expected drop in first-half revenue, citing ongoing points with engine inspections that grounded its Airbus planes and the influence of battle within the Center East.

Wizz Air additionally mentioned it expects to return to development by taking 50 new Airbus A321NEO deliveries and rising seat capability by about 20% throughout 2026.