Low-cost carrier Wizz Air, which bases three A321neos in Larnaca, announced on 28 April a partnership with Hopper Technology Solutions (HTS) to offer an opt-in fintech product called “Disruption Assistance.” The add-on, sold during booking, automatically rebooks passengers on any available carrier—or refunds 100 % of the fare—if a flight is delayed by two hours or cancelled on the day of travel. Wizz Air claims the service is the first of its kind among European airlines and arrives ahead of what Eurocontrol predicts will be a record-breaking summer with a 5.8 % year-on-year increase in traffic. For travellers to and from Cyprus, the tool could prove valuable: the island’s dependence on single-runway airports means even minor ATC or weather disruptions often cascade into lengthy knock-on delays. Under the arrangement, HTS monitors flight status in real time and pushes alternative itineraries directly to the customer’s smartphone. If accepted, HTS books the new ticket at no extra cost to the passenger up to a preset cap; Wizz Air then settles reimbursement claims with HTS, insulating the traveller from paperwork. From a compliance perspective, the product sits outside the scope of EU Regulation 261/2004, meaning it supplements—not replaces—the carrier’s statutory duty of care. Corporate travel buyers may nevertheless see value in the certainty it provides, particularly on Wizz’s high-frequency Larnaca-Athens, Larnaca-Budapest and Larnaca-London routes that form the backbone of many assignment rotations. Early-bird pricing is €9.90 per sector, rising to €14.90 closer to travel. TMCs that billet volume to Wizz Air can negotiate inclusion as part of net-fare bundles, and mobility managers should update travel-policy annexes to reflect whether the add-on is expense-eligible.
Source: Kathimerini Cyprus – KNEWS
