Wizz AirWizz Air refund: cash or WIZZ credit after a cancellation, and what you get if you cancel
A Wizz Air refund depends on who cancelled. If Wizz Air cancels, the Total Fare comes back as WIZZ credit or to your original form of payment, and you choose which up to 3 hours before departure. If you cancel, Wizz Air UK Ltd’s conditions deduct fees, and its Help Centre says the balance goes back as WIZZ credit.
The Wizz Air terms quoted here come from Wizz Air UK Ltd’s conditions of carriage and its en-gb Help Centre. They are contract terms, not law; where the law applies, the statute is named.
#What does Wizz Air offer when it cancels your flight?
When Wizz Air cancels, clause 5.8.4 of Wizz Air UK Ltd’s conditions entitles you to a refund of the Total Fare. The Help Centre lists the options: accept the alternative flight, rebook free within 14 days before or 30 days after the original date, or cancel for WIZZ credits or a refund to the original form of payment.
Source: Wizz Air UK Ltd General Conditions of Carriage (effective 15 May 2023), clause 5.8.4; Wizz Air Help Centre, “Cancelled flight: what to do?” — wizzair.com, checked 2026-10-05.
UK261 adds a legal layer. It covers any airline leaving a UK airport, flights into the UK on a UK or EU airline, and flights into the EU on a UK airline. After a cancellation, article 8(1)(a) gives you the choice of reimbursement within seven days of the full cost of the ticket, at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made.
UK airport, flights into the 
EU airline, and flights into the That refund is your ticket money. Compensation is a separate sum: £220, £350 or £520 by distance under article 7(1). After a cancellation it can be owed only when the airline gave less than 14 days' notice. It is not owed where the airline offered a replacement flight inside the article 5(1)(c) time limits, or proves the cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances that all reasonable measures could not have avoided.
Source: UK261 art. 3(1), art. 5(1)(c), art. 5(3), art. 7(1) — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15; art. 8(1)(a), checked 2026-10-05.
Start with the free route: open your WIZZ Account, choose the refund option for the cancelled flight and keep the confirmation. If the notice was under 14 days, claim any compensation from Wizz Air yourself; the Wizz Air page sets out how.
AirHelp (third-party claim service)
AviationADR stay free.- Write to the airline and keep the reference
- Refused, or no answer in 8 weeks: its ADR scheme or the CAA, free
- You keep all of the compensation
Hand it overAirHelp takes the claim, no win no fee- They deal with the airline for you
- AirHelp's fee is 35% of the compensation, VAT included, and nothing if the claim fails.
Save the cancellation message with its date. The 14-day notice line is the first test for compensation.
#Card refund or WIZZ credit: which should you choose?
Wizz Air’s Help Centre sets a 3-hour cut-off. Up to 3 hours before the original departure time, you choose in your WIZZ Account between WIZZ credit and a refund to the original form of payment. Otherwise, the page says, the full ticket fare refund is credited to your WIZZ Account automatically.
Source: Wizz Air Help Centre, “Cancelled flight: what to do?” — wizzair.com, checked 2026-10-05.
Question | What Wizz Air's pages say |
|---|---|
Where do you choose? | WIZZ Account, up to 3 hours before the original departure time |
No choice made by then | Full ticket fare credited to your WIZZ Account automatically |
WIZZ credit after a cancellation or delay | At your disposal within 48 hours |
Credit card or bank transfer refund | Might take up to 30 days to arrive |
Request sent by claim form | Processed within 30 days |
You cancel up to the 14th day before departure | Total Fare minus the Cancellation Fee (clause 6.4.1) |
You cancel within 14 days of departure | Total Fare minus the Fee for Other Services and the Seat Protection Fee (clause 6.4.2) |
Your own cancellation: cut-off and form | Up to 3 hours before departure; balance as WIZZ credits, refund issued within 72 hours, credits valid for 1 year |
Taxes on an unused flight | Non-refundable (clause 5.3.1); taxes set at 0 EUR for all bookings |
Source: Wizz Air UK Ltd General Conditions of Carriage (effective 15 May 2023), clauses 5.3.1, 6.4.1 and 6.4.2; Wizz Air Help Centre, “Cancelled flight: what to do?”, “Refund processing time and status”, “Cancel your flight”; Wizz Air, Services and Fees — wizzair.com, checked 2026-10-05.
Where UK261 covers the flight, two texts sit side by side. Article 8(1)(a) says reimbursement is made “by the means provided for in Article 7(3)”. Article 7(3) lists them: “paid in cash, by electronic bank transfer, bank orders or bank cheques or, with the signed agreement of the passenger, in travel vouchers and/or other services”. Wizz Air’s Help Centre says that without a choice before the 3-hour mark, the full ticket fare refund goes to your WIZZ Account.
Source: UK261 art. 7(3) — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15; art. 8(1)(a), checked 2026-10-05.
To get the Wizz Air refund to your card, choose the original-payment option in your WIZZ Account before the 3-hour mark. Screenshot the confirmation with its date.
#Can you cancel a Wizz Air flight yourself?
Yes, for a fee. Wizz Air UK Ltd’s conditions draw the line at 14 days before departure: up to the fourteenth day, clause 6.4.1 refunds the Total Fare after deduction of the Cancellation Fee. Within 14 days, clause 6.4.2 refunds the Total Fare after deduction of the Fee for Other Services and the Seat Protection Fee.
Source: Wizz Air UK Ltd General Conditions of Carriage (effective 15 May 2023), clauses 5.8.1, 6.4.1 and 6.4.2 — wizzair.com, checked 2026-10-05.
Clause 5.8.1 of the same conditions sets the general rule, with its own carve-out: “Our fares and fees are non-refundable, so if you cancel, miss, or do not take your flight you will not receive a refund, except as otherwise stated in these Terms.”
The Help Centre adds the practical limits. You can cancel up to 3 hours before the scheduled departure time for a cancellation fee, and any balance goes to the WIZZ Account of the booking owner as WIZZ credits. Any applicable refund is issued within 72 hours. The credits are valid for 1 year. For anything about turning credits back into money, ask Wizz Air’s Contact Centre.
No 14-day cooling-off period applies. Regulation 27(2)(c) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 takes flights out of the cancellation right: Part 3 “does not apply to contracts to the extent that they are… (c) for passenger transport services”. UK261 gives no refund here either. Its article 8 refund follows denied boarding, a cancellation or a delay of at least five hours, and a passenger who decides not to fly on a flight that operates is in none of those situations.
Source: Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/3134), reg. 27(2)(c); UK261 art. 8(1) — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-10-05; UK261 art. 1(1), checked 2026-09-22.
Check the fee your WIZZ Account shows before you confirm the cancellation.
#Do you get taxes back on an unused Wizz Air flight?
Not separately. Wizz Air’s Services and Fees page says it charges passengers no taxes and sets taxes at 0 EUR for all bookings, with airport and fuel charges in the base price. Clause 5.3.1 of Wizz Air UK Ltd’s conditions says Wizz Air pays the taxes and charges on your booking, and “All such taxes and charges are non-refundable.”
Source: Wizz Air UK Ltd General Conditions of Carriage (effective 15 May 2023), clauses 5.3.1 to 5.3.3; Wizz Air, Services and Fees — wizzair.com, checked 2026-10-05.
Clause 5.3.2 says Wizz Air bears the cost of airport and security charges. Wizz Air’s en-gb Help Centre showed no tax-refund form on 5 October 2026.
Clause 5.3.3 is the one exception. If the Total Fare is “significantly increased as a result of new or increased amount of taxes, charges or fees”, you are entitled to cancel your booking and to a refund of the Total Fare.
Air Passenger Duty is a separate question of law. Finance Act 1994 section 28(2) says the duty “becomes due when the aircraft first takes off on the passenger’s flight” and “shall be paid by the operator of the aircraft”. The guide to cancelling your own flight sets out what HMRC says about APD on a flight you did not take.
Source: Finance Act 1994 s.28(2) — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-10-05.
If you cannot fly, make the paid cancellation in your WIZZ Account at least 3 hours before departure.
#What if Wizz Air refuses or delays your refund?
Complain to Wizz Air first. If it has not replied within 8 weeks, the CAA says you can take the complaint to an approved ADR body, and the CAA lists Wizz Air as an AviationADR member. ADR covers incidents within the last 6 years (5 if you live in Scotland); submit within 12 months of the airline’s final response.
CAA says you can take the complaint to an approved ADR body, and the CAA lists Wizz Air as an 
Scotland); submit within 12 months of the airline’s final response.Source: CAA, Alternative dispute resolution — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
In a complaint about a Wizz Air refund after a cancellation, quote UK261 article 8(1)(a) if UK261 covers the flight. ADR is free, and in most cases a decision comes within three months. The decision binds the airline if you accept it; you can still go to court.
Paid by credit card? Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 gives you a like claim against the card issuer for the supplier’s misrepresentation or breach of contract, and the issuer is jointly and severally liable with the supplier. It does not apply where the single item’s cash price, as set by the supplier, is £100 or less or more than £30,000; the card total is not the test. The Section 75 and chargeback guide walks through the steps.
Source: Consumer Credit Act 1974 s.75(1), (3)(b) — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-20.
Compare what Wizz Air sent you with the voucher and refund rules after an airline cancellation, and write down the date your 8 weeks end.
Not your situation? A flight leaving an EU airport falls under EU261. Unsure which law applies? Find which law covers your flight. If you cancelled the flight yourself, read the cancelling your own flight guide.
General information, not legal advice. For your specific case, contact the airline or an ADR body, or take advice from a qualified solicitor.
#Sources
- Wizz Air UK Ltd, General Conditions of Carriage for Passengers and Baggage (effective 15 May 2023) — wizzair.com.
- Wizz Air Help Centre, Cancelled flight: what to do — wizzair.com.
- Wizz Air Help Centre, Refund processing time and status — wizzair.com.
- Wizz Air Help Centre, Cancel your flight — wizzair.com.
- Wizz Air, Services and Fees — wizzair.com.
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it forms part of UK law, arts. 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8 — legislation.gov.uk.
- Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, reg. 27 — legislation.gov.uk.
- Finance Act 1994, s.28 — legislation.gov.uk.
- Consumer Credit Act 1974, s.75 — legislation.gov.uk.
- CAA, Alternative dispute resolution — caa.co.uk.