The consumer champion surveyed more than 8,000 travellers about their experiences of flying in the past two years. Passengers were invited to rate airlines on a range of criteria including customer service, value for money and boarding experience.

Overall, WizzAir was the worst performing short-haul airline in the consumer champion’s survey, receiving a “dire” customer score of 48%. Travellers gave it merely one star out of five for boarding experience, as well as for cabin environment and seat comfort.

The airline achieved no higher than two stars in any of the remaining categories, including value for money and customer service.

Wizz received repeated complaints about delays, with Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data revealing the airline was among the worst offenders for punctuality last year, with just 56% of flights arriving on time. Of the short-haul airlines included in the survey, only Tui fared worse for punctuality, with less than half (45%) of its flights on time.

Wizz Air has expanded rapidly in recent years, but routes are frequently paused or shelved altogether. Last April, it launched a number of new routes from Cardiff Airport, before announcing that most of these would be pulled from the market over the winter period – despite many customers having already booked.

The CAA has also previously raised concerns about high volumes of complaints about the airline via the Alternative Dispute Resolution Scheme and the courts.

What does Wizz say?

WizzAir said that it did “everything possible” to ensure that flights arrived on time and said that a number of issues affecting the global aviation industry contributed to a worse time performance in 2022.

A WizzAir spokesperson said: “These issues resulted from a widespread shortage in staff, in particular within air traffic control, ground operations and baggage handling, security and across airports. We are committed to constantly reviewing processes to mitigate these issues and are seeing an overall improvement in the on-time performance of our routes.

“Wizz Air operates a fleet of brand new, state-of-the-art Airbus aircraft, with an average age of 4.6 years, which offer passengers comfort, space, and modern interiors. The A321neo features the widest single-aisle cabin configuration with 239 18-inch-wide seats. Every aircraft is cleaned after each flight and deep cleaned every night. The onboard menu is reviewed and updated on a bi-monthly basis and, following customer feedback, a local products range was recently introduced on all Wizz Air UK flights.”

How did the other budget airlines score?

Ryanair (52%), Eurowings (53%), British Airways (56%) and Lufthansa (57%) all finished just ahead of WizzAir.

Ryanair received several one and two star scores, including just one star for boarding experience, seat comfort, food and drink and cabin environment.

British Airways was widely panned by survey respondents, scoring only two stars for boarding, seat comfort and value for money, and no more than three stars in any other category.

The worst offender for last-minute cancellations was Eurowings, which cancelled 3.4% of its flights within 24 hours of departure, followed by Flybe (3.1%), now in administration, and Guernsey-based Aurigny Air Service (3%).

Which is the best short haul airline?

Jet2.com emerged at the top of the short haul airline table, with a customer score of 80%, achieving Which? Recommended Provider status. Travellers awarded it an impressive five stars for customer service, with multiple customers praising the helpful and friendly staff.

Norwegian Airlines was the only other carrier to achieve Which? Recommended Provider status in short-haul. Turkish Airlines and Finnair were rejected for having terms and conditions which allow them to cancel passengers’ return journeys if they miss their outbound flight through no fault of their own.

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: “Travellers have had a torrid time in recent years, with last-minute delays and cancellations an unacceptably common occurrence. While airlines like Jet2.com have distinguished themselves by offering flyers excellent customer care and a reliable service, too many of their competitors continually fail to measure up.”

“If alternative carriers are available for your route, avoid Wizz Air, as its poor record on customer care means you’re likely to be left high and dry in the event your flight is delayed or cancelled.”