Wizz Air is facing backlash from pilots’ unions after the airline’s chief appeared to urge crews to work their way through fatigue.
Chief Executive Jozsef Varadi said staff should “go the extra mile” when tired so the airline can avoid canceling flights.
Pilots’ unions said flying when tired is dangerous and his comments showed a “lack of safety culture”.
But Wizz Air said Mr Varadi is targeting all workers, not just pilots.
Like some airlines, Wizz Air was forced to cancel flights during the recent anniversary holiday, which coincided with the school holidays, due to “widespread staff shortages”.
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Speaking at the company’s annual results on Wednesday, Mr Varadi told workers: “Now that everyone is back to work, I understand that fatigue is a possible consequence of the problems, but once we start to stabilize rosters we also need to take action to bring the fatigue rate down .
“I mean, we can’t run this business when every fifth person on a base is sick because the person is tired. We are all tired, but sometimes it takes going the extra mile.”
Mr Varadi added: “The damage is enormous if we cancel the flights, it’s enormous. It’s reputational damage to the brand and it’s the other financial damage, transactional damage because we have to pay compensation for that.”
The European Cockpit Association, which has been pushing for union recognition at Wizz Air and shared a short clip of Mr Varadi’s speech, said the comments encouraged pilots to fly when they were tired and called on regulators to intervene.
“It’s like giving your car keys to a drunk driver,” the union said, adding it shows a “lack of safety culture” at the airline
Martin Chalk, General Secretary of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa), said that “many studies have shown that fatigue has similar effects on a person’s thinking and decision-making as alcohol does”.
“Nobody supports pilots or other safety-sensitive personnel working with alcohol in their system,” he said, adding that he was “very surprised by Mr. Varadi’s apparent views on fatigue”.
There are restrictions on the number of hours flight crew should work.
The rules state that flight crew are not, and must not, fly if they are in a state of fatigue that could endanger passengers or the aircraft.
Wizz Air denied that Mr Varadi was specifically targeting pilots but spoke to all of the staff. A statement said: “Our crew’s unavailability was very low at 4%. In this context, there has been discussion about going the extra mile to minimize disruption.
“What this doesn’t mean is jeopardize security. Wizz Air and the airline industry are highly regulated and safety is and always will be our top priority.”
It added: “This clip was excised from a briefing given to all staff – not just the pilots, but also the cabin crew and all office workers – on important business updates and current aviation challenges.
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