A Wizz Airpilot lost his cool with passengers this week, after what they say was a seven-hour delay on the tarmac at Gatwick.
The flight - thought to be flight W65747, Wizz Air’s service from Gatwick to Larnaca, Cyprus - had reportedly sat for hours on the runway at Gatwick Airport before customers began to get restless and unruly with staff.
Faced with the mutinous atmosphere, the pilot was recorded telling passengers in no uncertain terms to stop kicking up a fuss or face being kicked off.
Passenger Hannah Mace filmed the incident - which shows passengers visibly shocked at the pilot’s tone - and posted it to TikTok with the caption: “Ryanair would never”.
The clip has already had 1.8 million views.
“A show of hands please - who wants to get off?” the pilot can be heard shouting loudly in the video.
“We won’t be going tonight if you get off.
“You know, I don’t need this, my crew don’t need this.
“We are doing what we can to get you out of here. It’s out of our control.
“Okay? Completely out of my control. We are doing everything we can.”
Passengers in the background can be heard laughing and gasping at the pilot’s reaction.
“We’re being told off!” marvels one.
“If you wanna get off, I’ll let you off. No problem,” the pilot reiterates.
Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 shows that Wizz Air’s Gatwick to Larnaca service ran late on both Sunday and Monday evening this week, arriving three hours and 40 minutes late and three hours 25 minutes late respectively.
“To be fair, I’m on his side!! He’s probably extremely stressed and the crew are exhausted!!” commented follower Beck.
“I honestly don’t blame him, the public are absolutely feral out there since lockdown,” wrote another follower.
Meanwhile, Ms Mace quipped in the comments under her video: “Can’t wait to fly with them again in a month.”
Wizz Air wasn’t the only airline to come under fire for lengthy delays at Gatwick this week - easyJet grounded some 24 Gatwick flights at the last minute on Tuesday, blaming “air traffic restrictions due to weather” and refusing some customers compensation due to “extraordinary circumstances”.
Nicola Caine’s family had their easyJet flight from Manchester to Tenerife cancelled on Monday and were bussed more than four hours down to Gatwick by the airline for a replacement flight the following day.
However, that flight, too was cancelled, and the family of four say they spent Tuesday night sleeping on the airport floor.
A Wizz Air spokesperson said: “Wizz Air sincerely apologises for the inconvenience caused by the delayed flight W95749, from Gatwick to Larnaca.
“This was initially a result of a late inbound aircraft, with further delays caused by Air Traffic Control issues at London Gatwick. Wizz Air has contacted affected customers directly to inform them about their rights.”
