Airline passengers boarded, deplaned, then boarded again before their flight was canceled after technical issues and staffing problems

• Wizz Air passengers traveling from Cardiff to Corfu were boarded and deplaned twice, per Wales Online.
• The flight was delayed by four hours due to technical issues and passengers were deplaned.

Passengers traveling from Cardiff, Wales to the Greek island of Corfu last week were boarded and deplaned twice for a flight that was eventually canceled, Wales Online reported.

The flight, operated by Wizz Air, was due to depart on August 7 but was hit with both technical difficulties and staffing issues, causing it to be delayed by around four hours and then ultimately canceled.

Wizz Air did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on the incident.

A passenger, Sean Glossop, told Wales Online the first delay was due to a technical fault with the plane.

He said engineers had to "turn the plane on and off again" and passengers were deplaned. He added they were then sent back to the airport with a $5 food voucher which was "enough to buy half a sandwich" at Cardiff Airport.

After the passengers were boarded for a second time, they were told the pilots had run out of working hours and were deplaned for a second time while the airline arranged a standby crew, Glossop said.

Pilots have a legal maximum limit of working hours, 900 hours per year, to prevent fatigue and unsafe flying conditions.

Glossop said when passengers returned to the terminal there were advised by staff that the flight was canceled. Data from flight tracking website FlightRadar24 appears to show that the plane never departed Cardiff.

"All in all, they kept us waiting for around four hours whilst boarding and deboarding us twice, with absolutely no help from anyone working for the airline to rebook passengers," Glossop said.

Wizz Air did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on the incident.

This summer, as travel disruptions and staffing issues impact the aviation sector, pilots from many airlines have complained about overwork, toxic work environments, and fatigue, Insider has previously reported.

Last month, the CEO of Wizz Air, József Váradi, faced criticism for appearing to suggest pilots should fly while fatigued, Insider reported. Váradi reportedly said pilots should "take the extra mile" despite fatigue to help stabilize flight schedules.

"We have a robust and responsible crew management system which meets the needs of our people and enables us to serve as many customers as possible in the current challenging environment," a Wizz Air spokesperson told Insider at the time.