Amsterdam, Mar 29 (IBNS): Icelandic budget airline Wow Air announced it was closing down on Thursday without any prior intimation to passengers leaving many in the lurch.
However, reports that the airline could cease operation any moment had been circulating over the past few days though the airline made no official announcement.
The airline even continued selling tickets till the day it shut down, reports said. Wow Air is the latest of European airlines to down shutters in the past several months.
“All WOW Air flights have been cancelled. Passengers are advised to check available flights with other airlines,” the carrier said in a statement on Thursday.
Among the thousands of travellers who were adversely affected by the situation was IBNS editor Sujoy Dhar, who was scheduled to take a Wow Air flight from here to Toronto.
"I have now booked a Jet Airways ticket at the last moment paying more than twice the amount I had paid for the Wow Air one," Dhar, who has had to extend his stay in Amsterdam because of the situation, said.
Founded by Skuli Mogensen, Wow Air flew 3.5 million passengers in 2018. The airline operated trans-Atlantic flights to cities such as New York and Toronto.
According to reports, the founder and CEO blamed several factors for the collapse. He cited “bad publicity” and “stricter payment terms” that put pressure on the company’s cash flow. Discussions about a potential acquisition of Wow by Icelandair Group also fell apart some months ago. Wow also unsuccessfully tried to restart discussions with Icelandair.
“I will never forgive myself for not acting sooner,” Mogensen said in a letter to employees Thursday. “WOW was clearly an incredible airline, and we were on the path to doing amazing things again.”
More than 1,000 people will lose their jobs, reports said.
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