Various labor unions of pilots in the United States have expressed concerns to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) over Wizz Air. The European low-cost carrier is seeking approval for cargo and charter flights to the US, but unions have urged the DOT to deny this approval over concerns about anti-union stances at the airline.

Wizz Air under fire from unions

Over the last week, four separate unions have filed with the DOT, urging them to deny Wizz Air's foreign air carrier permit application. The first was the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA). SWAPA highlighted concerns over Wizz Air's lack of a description of services. This includes plans of cities, frequencies, and potential schedules. However, one of the union's biggest concerns was Wizz Air's labor practice, which it states have included opposition to unionization, claiming that these practices undermine labor standards under the US-EU Transport Agreement.

The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) raised similar concerns. This union raised concerns over Wizz Air targeting employees who may refuse to fly overtime or call in sick. ALPA has concerns about how Wizz Air treats contract pilots employed via individual employment contracts that allow the airline to hire pilots at lower salaries. This is on top of ALPA's lengthy examples of anti-union behavior from the airline. The Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines pilots, also joined in opposition and raised potential concerns of the impact on American Airlines.

From the cargo world, the Independent Pilots Association (IPA), representing UPS pilots, took a stand against Wizz Air's operations. In addition to anti-union concerns, it also raised concerns about whether Wizz Air's anti-union policies could be a detriment to flight safety. Other unions also highlighted reports that Wizz Air urged pilots to fly beyond their maximum duty time.

Stay informed: Sign up for our daily and weekly aviation news digests.

Wizz Air faces challenges to union stance

Wizz Air has recently come under scrutiny over its labor practices. In April of 2021, Wizz Air's Head of Flight Operations departed after some controversial comments calling certain pilots "bad apples" and urged for their dismissal. Then, in December, Reuters reported that investors have also raised concerns that the airline is anti-union. Recently, Danish pension fund AkademikerPension sold its shares in Wizz Air over labor practice concerns.

Some of the controversy arose after an interview Wizz Air CEO József Varadi gave with aeroTELEGRAPH in 2020, stating that the unions "are killing the business" and how the airline was working evading unions and keeping them out of their operations. Later that year, Wizz Air was looking at operations in Norway and working on assuaging concerns that the airline was anti-union.

Wizz Air's US goals

Wizz Air is not looking at bringing its low-cost service across the Atlantic. It has, however, submitted to receive authority to run commercial charter and all-cargo operations to and from the United States. Little else is known about where the airline wants to fly.

With unions firmly against the application, the airline faces a tighter path to receive approval for US operations. The DOT is likely to heavily weigh the concerns from the union in determining the path forward to Wizz Air. Wizz Air will be given a chance to respond before the DOT officially makes a ruling.