Wizz Air's profit significantly decreased despite passenger traffic growth

Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air reported a 66.6% drop in net profit for the first half of the 2026/2027 financial year. The main reasons were higher jet fuel prices, disruptions in air connectivity in the Middle East, and limited aircraft availability.

This is according to the company's financial report published on November 12. The report covers six months ending September 30, 2026.

During this period, Wizz Air's net profit fell to €108.1 million from €323.5 million a year earlier. At the same time, the airline's revenue increased by 13.8% to €3.8 billion.

Despite worsening financial results, Wizz Air's passenger traffic rose by 26.2% to 46.1 million people. The number of available seats on flights increased by 26.1%, and the average aircraft load factor remained high at 92.5%.

The biggest pressure on financial performance came from fuel costs. They increased by 33.7% to €1.24 billion from €928.3 million in the six months. The average price of jet fuel for the carrier, including price risk insurance mechanisms, rose by 19.3%.

Additional problems included disruptions in air connectivity in the Middle East and the need to temporarily remove some aircraft from service for Pratt & Whitney engine inspections. At the end of September, 22 aircraft were not in use due to these inspections, compared to 35 a year earlier.

In the second fiscal quarter, the situation began to improve. For July–September, the airline's net profit increased by 7.4% compared to the same period last year, to €306.3 million. This indicates that the main decline in profitability occurred in the first months of the reporting period.

Wizz Air CEO József Váradi said that demand for travel remains stable, and ticket revenue began to recover at the end of the summer. At the same time, high fuel costs remain the main risk to the company's profitability.

To protect against further price fluctuations, Wizz Air has fixed the cost of approximately 82% of its fuel needs for the second half of the financial year.

The company also reported that in October, average ticket revenue per passenger increased by 7% year-on-year. However, these figures do not mean automatic increases in the cost of all future flights—prices will continue to depend on route, season, and demand.

Sources: Wizz Air — financial results, Bloomberg