Pilots union opposes Wizz Air’s US market ambitions

Hungarian airline Wizz Air’s plan to enter the American market is being opposed by a US pilots’ union, which claims it uses “a toxic culture of reprisal” against its employees. Wizz Air’s lax attitude to issues such as fatigue and illness could also compromise safety, according to the opinion of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), dailynewshungary.com reports. 

Wizz Air submitted a request to operate its A330-200F cargo plane in the US in January. However, ALPA has asked in a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOT) that it not issue charter or cargo permits to Wizz Air without first consulting European aviation authorities. 

According to ALPA, Wizz Air is “anti-union” and lacking in a safety culture, according to UK outlet Flightglobal. ALPA president Joe De Pete said last week that Wizz Air dismisses pilots for not working  overtime or if they are ill, therefore the company would be harmful to the US flight market. Wizz Air has not yet responded to a media inquiry on its opinion of ALPA’s letter. 

Flightglobal noted that last week a Danish pension fund sold a USD 3.4mn stake in Wizz Air after it refused to join in collective bargaining with employees in several countries. Wizz Air CEO Jozsef Varadi said unions were “killing the business” in a 2020 interview, dailynewshungary.com recalled.

Source: Daily News Hungary