The airline Wizz Air, investigated by the European Commission. How customers were tricked into paying more

The European Commission and the EU authorities for consumer protection have started an investigation regarding 20 airlines, including Wizz Air.

According to the accusations, Wizz Air and 19 other airlines would have misled their customers regarding environmental declarations. Therefore, the European Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC) sent letters asking for clarifications to all 20 airlines, reports Daily News Hungary.

The action follows a complaint filed in June 2023 by the European consumer organization BEUC and is led by supervisory authorities in Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain.

According to airportal.hu, the 20 airlines included are Air Baltic, Air Dolomiti, Air France, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Finnair, KLM, Lufthansa, Norwegian, Ryanair, SAS, SAS, Swiss, TAP, Volotea, Vueling and Wizz Air.

The European Commission is seeking clarification on claims made by airlines that CO2 emissions from a flight could be offset by climate projects or the use of sustainable fuels, for which passengers could contribute by paying additional fees.

“The authorities are concerned that the practices identified may be considered misleading actions/omissions, prohibited under Articles 5, 6 and 7 of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. In turn, the airlines must clarify whether these claims can be justified on the basis of sound scientific evidence.” say European Commission officials.

“It is excellent news that authorities across Europe are acknowledging that consumers have in fact been duped by the greenwashing practices of airlines. It is unacceptable that they have lured consumers into offsetting the emissions generated by their flights, sometimes at a high price.” said Monique Goyens, the general director of BEUC.

Wizz Air and the other 19 airlines have 30 days to provide an answer and propose measures to remedy the situation. The authorities will discuss and supervise the implementation of the agreed solutions and, if the necessary measures are not taken, sanctions could also be applied.