Flying with Wizz Air means access to some of the lowest fares on European and Eastern European routes, but also one of the strictest rulebooks of any budget airline. Understanding the fare structure, the gate rules and your rights before you fly saves both money and stress at the airport.
This guide is part of our airlines hub, where you’ll find every UK airline’s baggage rules, seat policies and sale dates in one place.
This guide covers everything you need before flying with Wizz Air: hand luggage rules, checked bags, seat selection, sale patterns, check-in deadlines and your rights if something goes wrong. For specific topics, use the guides below.
What does Wizz Air include in the ticket price?
Wizz Air’s base fare covers even less than most competitors. Every passenger gets one small personal item (40 x 30 x 20 cm, up to 10 kg) that must fit under the seat in front. Everything else, a bigger cabin bag, hold luggage, a chosen seat, is an extra.
The table below shows what’s included and what costs extra, based on Wizz Air’s current UK fare structure.
| What | All passengers | Extra cost or upgrade |
|---|---|---|
| Small personal item (40 x 30 x 20 cm, under seat) | Included for every passenger | , |
| WIZZ Priority cabin bag (55 x 40 x 23 cm, 10 kg, overhead) | WIZZ Priority and bundle fares | Priced per route as a WIZZ Priority add-on |
| Checked bag (10, 20, 26 or 32 kg) | Not included on any fare | From around €15 online, more at the airport |
| Seat selection | WIZZ Go and Smart bundles | From £11 per seat, per flight |
| WIZZ Class (row 1, blocked middle, snack and drink) | Not included on any fare | From £55, on top of a qualifying bundle |
| Airport check-in | , | Not available, online check-in only |
| Food and drink on board | , | Buy on board from around €3 |
Wizz Air hand luggage
Every passenger gets one free personal item measuring no more than 40 x 30 x 20 cm and weighing up to 10 kg, and it has to fit under the seat in front. A second, larger cabin bag (55 x 40 x 23 cm, 10 kg, overhead locker) only comes free with WIZZ Priority, it isn’t included on the base fare at all.
For the full breakdown of sizes, fees and how the gate sizer works, see our guide to Wizz Air’s hand luggage allowance.
Enforcement is unforgiving. Wizz Air uses metal sizers at the gate, and wheels or handles that push a bag even a centimetre over the limit count against you. A bag that fails the sizer is checked into the hold on the spot for an oversized fee of around €65, so it pays to measure your bag properly before you travel, not just trust the label.
Wizz Air checked baggage
Checked bags come in four weight tiers, 10 kg, 20 kg, 26 kg and 32 kg, and you can buy up to six per booking. Prices run from around €15 to €120 per bag depending on the season, the route and how far ahead you book. Buying online is always cheaper than adding a bag at the airport, sometimes by as much as half.
If your bag goes over its tier once you’re at check-in, you’ll pay a surcharge of around €13 per kilo for the excess, so it’s worth weighing your case at home before you leave.
Best carry-on bag for Wizz Air
Wizz Air’s free personal item allowance is tighter than easyJet’s or Jet2’s, and a lot of cases marketed as cabin-friendly won’t pass the gate sizer. Getting this wrong at the airport means paying to check a bag you’d planned to carry on.
For tested options that fit both the personal-item and WIZZ Priority sizers, see our guide to the best carry-on bag for Wizz Air.
Wizz Air seat selection and WIZZ Class
Seat selection isn’t included on the standard fare. Pay for it and prices start from around £11 for a standard seat, rising to £24 for an exit row and up to £26 for the first row. The WIZZ Go and Smart fare bundles include seat selection (extra-legroom rows excepted), and Smart also adds WIZZ Priority.
WIZZ Class, launched in February 2026, is a newer add-on worth knowing about: a row 1 seat with the adjacent middle seat blocked, a snack and a drink, a larger cabin bag allowance and priority boarding, for around £55 on top of a qualifying fare. It’s a cheap way to buy a bit of extra space on a short flight, without paying for a full business product that doesn’t really exist on this airline.
If you’re travelling as a family and need to sit together, pay for seats at booking. Wizz Air allocates seats at random during check-in if you don’t, and there’s no guarantee you’ll end up next to each other.
Wizz Air sale dates
Wizz Air doesn’t publish a fixed sale calendar, but 2026 has followed a clear pattern: a New Year sale in January (up to 26% off), a two-day flash sale in late April, and a 24-hour flash sale in May, each covering a specific future travel window rather than the whole network.
Promo codes also surface outside the big sales, usually on Tuesdays or Thursdays, for a 24 to 72 hour window and around 20% off. Signing up to the Wizz Air newsletter is the most reliable way to hear about these before seats sell out.
When does Wizz Air release flights?
Wizz Air typically opens new routes and dates around six to twelve months before departure, though the exact release schedule varies by base and route. Fares are usually cheapest close to release, before demand builds.
For the full release pattern and how to catch the earliest fares, see our guide to when Wizz Air releases flights.
WIZZ Discount Club and MultiPass
Wizz Air runs two membership schemes that don’t have a direct equivalent at Ryanair or easyJet. WIZZ Discount Club is an annual membership, £59.99 for an individual, that unlocks discounted fares and baggage fees across the network.
WIZZ MultiPass is a monthly subscription aimed at people who fly the same route repeatedly, commuters, students, and families visiting relatives abroad. You pay a fixed monthly fee for a set number of flights, though you can only book within five days of departure, so it suits routine trips more than one-off holidays.
Wizz Air check-in
Online check-in opens 30 days before departure if you’ve bought a seat, or 24 hours before if you haven’t, and it closes 3 hours before your flight. That’s stricter than most UK budget airlines: once it closes, there’s no airport check-in fallback, so missing the window can mean missing your flight entirely.
Save your boarding pass to your phone through the Wizz Air app or print it in advance. Gates close 30 minutes before departure, and boarding stops there, arrive later than that and you won’t be let on.
Delays, cancellations and your rights
Under UK261, Wizz Air passengers are entitled to compensation when a flight is delayed by three hours or more or cancelled, unless the disruption is caused by something outside the airline’s control, such as severe weather or air traffic control action.
| Flight distance | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Under 1,500 km | £220 per passenger |
| 1,500 km to 3,500 km | £350 per passenger |
| Over 3,500 km | £520 per passenger |
Wizz Air also has to provide meals, drinks and communication during delays of more than two hours, and accommodation if you’re stranded overnight. If a delay reaches five hours, you can choose a full refund instead of travelling, but that right disappears once you board.
Submit claims through Wizz Air’s claims process. If your claim is rejected unfairly, escalate to the Civil Aviation Authority rather than a third-party claims firm, which typically takes 25 to 35% of any payout.
Are Wizz Air flights refundable?
Wizz Air tickets aren’t refundable if you simply change your mind. A refund only applies in the specific situations below.
| Situation | What you’re owed |
|---|---|
| Wizz Air cancels your flight | Full refund or rebooking |
| Delay of 5 hours or more | Full refund if you choose not to travel |
| Denied boarding | Refund plus UK261 compensation |
| Cancelled with under 14 days’ notice | Refund plus UK261 compensation, if the cause was within Wizz Air’s control |
Cancelling yourself works differently, and it isn’t free. For the full fee structure, WIZZ Flex, and how refunds are actually paid, see our guide to are Wizz Air flights refundable.
Is flying with Wizz Air worth it?
Flying with Wizz Air is worth it if the lowest possible fare matters more to you than what’s included. Add WIZZ Priority if you’re travelling with more than a personal item and want to guarantee overhead space, standard fares board last and lockers can fill up before you get there.
If you’re booking last-minute, check the WIZZ Discount Club calculator before you buy, on some routes the annual fee pays for itself on a single booking.
Frequently asked questions
What does Wizz Air include in the ticket price?
The standard Wizz Air fare includes one small personal item (40 x 30 x 20 cm, up to 10 kg), which must fit under the seat. Nothing else is included, no cabin bag, no hold luggage, no seat choice and no priority boarding, all of which cost extra or need WIZZ Priority.
Is flying with Wizz Air worth it?
It depends on how you travel. Wizz Air often has the lowest base fares on its European and Eastern European routes, especially booked during a sale, but add a cabin bag, a checked bag and a chosen seat and the total can end up close to easyJet or Ryanair.
How strict is Wizz Air with hand luggage?
Very strict. Wizz Air uses metal gate sizers, and a bag just a centimetre over the limit, including wheels and handles, gets charged an oversized fee of around €65 on the spot.
What is Wizz Air’s fleet?
Wizz Air is the world’s largest operator of the Airbus A321neo, and it’s rolling out the longer-range A321XLR on routes like London Gatwick to Jeddah. Its UK operation is based at Luton and Gatwick, with 21 aircraft between the two.
Can I bring food on a Wizz Air flight?
Yes. Wizz Air allows passengers to bring their own food and non-alcoholic drinks on board, provided any liquids meet airport security rules, and sells snacks and hot drinks from around €3.
How do I claim compensation from Wizz Air?
Submit your claim through Wizz Air’s EC261/UK261 claims page on wizzair.com, you’ll need your booking reference and flight details. If Wizz Air rejects a valid claim, escalate to the Civil Aviation Authority rather than paying a third-party claims company a cut of your payout.
Kate Acaster is Chief Editor at Flight Tribe. She writes about practical travel planning, budget airlines, baggage rules, city breaks, beach holidays and good hotels that do not cost daft money.
Kate has travelled through Europe, South America and beyond, usually with a notebook, a half-formed plan and a strong opinion on airport snacks. At Flight Tribe, her work focuses on helping UK travellers understand what is included, what costs extra, and whether a trip is worth booking at the price shown.
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Kate checks the details that can change the value of a trip, including cabin-bag rules, airline fees, hotel location, seasonality, travel dates and booking conditions. She is especially interested in offers that look useful on the surface but need a proper reader-first check before they are worth recommending.
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