The Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air mistakenly sold flight tickets to Poland for only $16 and then canceled them less than a day later.
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The company apologized and claimed it was a technical error, assuring that all buyers would be refunded. However, some ticket purchasers remained disappointed expecting Wizz Air to take the hit and not cancel the tickets.
The whole incident began last Thursday when the news spread among various groups of travelers that WizzAir was selling tickets to Poland at a meager price. Many rushed and seized the opportunity, receiving confirmation and electronic flight tickets.
"I bought 7 tickets for NIS 618 ($170)," a user wrote in a secret Telegram group for cheap flights. While another person wrote, "I booked a weekend in August for NIS 120 ($33) for a couple".
However, the joy did not last too long. Less than a day later, the buyers started receiving emails informing them that their tickets were canceled and that they would be refunded.
Travel advisor and blogger Hila Mor Alon was among the buyers who jumped on the opportunity. "I booked four flight tickets to Krakow, and later I also booked for my mom and my aunt," she recounted. "The price increased after I made the reservation, so I booked for them the next day, and it was also NIS 30 ($16) per direction. Everything was fine, and I received a confirmation email, and it appeared in my booking on the app."
"The next day, I received an email stating that the reservation was approved with electronic tickets. And then on Friday evening, like the rest of the passengers, I received an email stating: 'We apologize for the mistake, there was a misunderstanding.'"
WizzAir released the following statement to Ynet: "The company confirms that a technical malfunction occurred during the system's reservation check, which led to an incorrect display of ticket prices to Poland and Italy. As soon as this issue was discovered, our team promptly rectified it, and all affected passengers received an automatic notification and will be refunded the full amount paid. We apologize for any inconvenience caused to all customers affected by this technical glitch and invite passengers needing further assistance to contact our customer support team via phone or chatbot on our website."