Wizz Air’s boss under fire following comments on staff reporting fatigue
Wizz Air’s boss Jozsef Varadi has come under fire after he made comments against pilots reporting symptoms of fatigue.
In an internal video leaked yesterday, the chief executive was heard telling staff to “go the extra mile.”
“We cannot run this business when every fifth person of a base reports sickness because that person is fatigued,” he said.
“The damage is huge when we are cancelling a flight. It’s huge. It’s reputational damage of the brand and it is the other financial damage, the transactional damage because we have to pay compensation for that.”
Varadi’s remarks attracted widespread criticism, especially from pilot unions.
The European Cockpit Association who called for the EU aviation safety agency to step in, saying his comment were like “handling the car keys to a drunk driver.”
The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) said it was shocked “an airline CEO would advise actions so contrary to basic safety culture.”
“BALPA urges Mr Varadi to swiftly clarify that Wizz Air would fully support any pilot who does the right thing by not flying if they feel fatigued, for the safety of passengers, crew & aircraft,” said the association.
The airline rebutted saying the clip was edited and the comments were directed not only to pilots but also to cabin crew staff and office employees.
“What this does not mean is compromising safety,” a company spokesperson said.
“We have a robust and responsible crew management system which meets the needs of our people and enables us to serve as many customers as possible in the current challenging environment.”
The comment came a day after the Hungarian business executive blamed post-Brexit legislation for contributing to the ongoing labour shortages in the UK.
“The UK’s post-Brexit immigration policy is putting a lot of strain on the labour market, something that is unique to Britain across the industry,” Varadi said. “You have exemptions for agricultural workers, maybe there should be exemptions for aviation.”