The low-budget Icelandic airline WOW Air announced today that all operations would halt, causing thousands of passengers to have their flights cancelled with no notice or refunds.
“WOW AIR has ceased operation,” the airline said in a statement on its website. “All WOW AIR flights have been cancelled.”
The statement also said that passengers should book their flights with other airlines and that passengers should check with their credit card companies to see if they are eligible for a refund, adding “such compensation is often limited.” WOW Air did not indicate that the airline would be issuing refunds but said, “Passengers may also be entitled to compensation from WOW AIR, including in accordance with European regulation on Air Passenger Rights. In case of a bankruptcy, claims should be filed to the administrator / liquidator.”
More than 4,000 passengers were affected, reported Financial Times.
The Washington Post reported that the Irish airline Aer Lingus would provide “rescue fares” to WOW Air passengers with flights scheduled until April 11 and “value fares” to passengers who had tickets with WOW Air after April 12.
Icelandair also offered discounted rates for stranded WOW Air passengers.
WOW Air was founded in 2011 by entrepreneur Skúli Mogensen, according to the airline’s website, which added that Mogensen was selected as “Business Man of the Year in Iceland” in 2011 and 2016 and named “Marketing Man of the Year in Iceland” in 2017. In 2018, the airline carried 3.5 million passengers and had 1,000 employees.
Mogensen was reportedly discussing restructuring the company by having bondholders convert their debt into shares to avoid collapsing, Financial Times reported. The airline also reportedly failed to strike a rescue deal with Icelandair and Indigo Partners, which operated the airline Wizz, according to CBS News.
Mogensen told Iceland’s state broadcaster RUV that negotiations went on until the early morning but eventually failed.
“As is normal, people believed we would get the investment,” Mogensen said, CNN reported. “We have been very transparent, but it didn’t happen.”
“I’m very sorry about this as these are people who have supported us,” Mogensen added. “I’m disappointed not to honor our commitments.”
On Thursday, Mogensen apologized to his employees in an email. “I will never forgive myself for not acting sooner,” Mogensen wrote, reported the New York Post. “WOW was clearly an incredible airline and we were on the path to do amazing things again.”
WOW Air is known for its cheap flights from the U.S. to Europe and is responsible for a major rise in tourism in Iceland. In 2015, WOW Air expanded into North America and as a result, the number of American travelers to Iceland increased from 152,000 in 2014 to 242,000 in 2015, Vox reported.
Some of the passengers affected tweeted about the inconvenience caused by the airline’s bust.
“Tempers were high last night,” one user said in a tweet accompanied by a video. “I can’t post anymore of this due to the swearing!”
Some people also took to Twitter to ask for help.
Several Twitter users joked about WOW Air’s bust.
“I hate it when I get to the airport, check into my flight, and then before we can take off the airline goes out of business and grounds all of its planes,” Lachlan Markay, a reporter from The Daily Beast tweeted.
One user detailed the shock of waking up early to find out that their flight was cancelled.