Based on passenger votes, Budapest-based Wizz Air was named the second-best airline in Central Europe at the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards, turizmus.com reports.

The award recognizes the dedication of Wizz Air’s employees and the airline’s ongoing commitment to providing an affordable, reliable, and passenger-friendly travel experience.

The second-place finish in the Central European region recognizes the work of more than 10,000 employees, who represent some 100 nationalities and work day in and day out to provide passengers with a safe, reliable, and comfortable travel experience, reads the airline’s press release.

As the statement notes, this recognition further motivates the airline to continue its 14-billion-euro “Customer First Compass” transformation program, which aims to improve the passenger experience at every touchpoint. The three-year initiative is built on four main pillars (product, price, service, and communication) and is designed to improve operational performance, expand digital and self-service solutions, introduce new services, and enhance passenger support throughout the entire travel process.

In the program’s first year, the company achieved a 99.5% on-time performance rate, further expanded its fleet, and launched more than 345 new routes.

It introduced new services such as WIZZ Class, WIZZ Link, and Disruption Assistance, and further enhanced the MyJourney feature of the Wizz Air app, while continuing to be one of the European airlines offering the lowest fares.

Wizz Air operates more than 1,000 routes in nearly 50 countries with a fleet of 276 aircraft.

In 2025, the airline carried 68.6 million passengers and operated nearly 335,000 scheduled flights.

The World Airline Awards, often referred to as “the Oscars of the aviation industry,” have been recognizing airlines’ outstanding performance since 1999. The results are compiled based on a global passenger satisfaction survey conducted independently of the airlines.

Via turizmus.com, Featured image: Pexels