Dear Passengers,
With a great regret, we must inform you that Primera Air will cease all operations on the midnight of October 1st, 2018 and enter administration process, after 14 years of operations.
This is a sad day for all the employees and passengers of Primera Air. The company has been working relentlessly during the last months to secure the long-term financing of the airline. Not being able to reach an agreement with our bank for a bridge financing, we had no other choice than filing for bankruptcy.
During the last 2 years, several unforeseen misfortunate events severely affected the financial standing of Primera Air. In 2017, the company lost one aircraft from operations due to severe corrosion problems and had to bear the total cost of rebuilding, resulted in a loss of more than 10 million euros. 2018 began with a fantastic start of our low-cost long-haul project with a brand-new Airbus 321neo fleet, however, due to severe delays of aircraft deliveries this beginning ended up being rocky and incredibly problematic: operational issues, cancelations of number of flights, loss of revenues are just a few to mention. In addition, to fulfill our obligations in front of passengers, Primera Air leased in aircraft and beared additional costs of over 20 million euros.
Weighting the potential losses due to future delivery delays, and the added exposure to our partners and lessors, and bearing in mind the difficult environment that airlines are facing now due to low prices and high fuel costs, we have decided to cease operations now, where it will have a smaller effect on our clients, due to the timing of the year, rather than increasing the exposure. Without additional financing, we do not see any possibility to continue our operations.
This is an enormous disappointment after the incredible hard work and dedication put into building the airline. The company wants to sincerely thank all its employees for their hard work and dedication, its clients for years of loyal support and its suppliers for their cooperation during the years.
Sincerely,
The board of Primera Air
Primera Air said it was ceasing all operations at midnight on Monday after 14 years of operations.
Flights to Washington and New York due to leave Stansted on Monday night were grounded and passengers have been told not to go to the airport on Tuesday.
One flight from Birmingham to Malaga arrived on Monday evening.
The Danish-registered airline is not part of the Civil Aviation Authority’s ATOL Protection scheme, which covers only passengers booked on package holidays.
The airline, which had 15 planes, began offering low-cost flights from Stansted and Birmingham to the US and Canada earlier this year.
Flights from Manchester to Malaga were due to start later this month.
The regulator has advised passengers who have travelled on a Primera flight they will need to make their own arrangements to return to the UK, and to contact their travel insurer or travel agent.
People who had booked directly with the airline on future flights will not be covered either, the CAA advises.
Passengers who paid by credit card may be protected by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and are advised to check with card issuers. Similar cover may apply if a Visa debit card was used.
The Icelandic-owned airline said it had failed to secure long-term financing, meaning it had “no choice” but to file for bankruptcy.
Passengers have contacted the BBC to say they have been left stranded by the airline.
Canadian Angela Dorau was in a queue to board a plane from Paris to Toronto with her husband when there was an announcement saying the flight had been cancelled.
She said: “Everybody was stranded. Currently my husband and I are in a dumpy motel by the airport trying to frantically scrounge together the funds to pay for another way home.”
They are yet to find an alternative flight home and she says what was supposed to be a budget trip looks like costing them an extra €2,000.
Primera’s decision to start competing with other low-cost long-haul operators such as Norwegian and Wow appears to have led to its demise.
Signs that the airline was in trouble came in August, when it said short-haul flights from Birmingham to seven European destinations would end on 3 September.
It also blamed the late arrival of new aircraft from Airbus that forced it to cancel flights and lease planes.
“Weighting the potential losses due to future delivery delays … and bearing in mind the difficult environment that airlines are facing now due to low prices and high fuel costs, we have decided to cease operations now,” the company said.
Five departures from Copenhagen and four from Billund on Tuesday are expected to be cancelled.
When it began longhaul operations from Stansted in May, Primera was offering flights to New York’s Newark airport, Boston, Washington DC and Toronto starting at £149 each way.
It had planned to start flying from Madrid to New York, Boston and Toronto next month from €149 each way.
Most of the airline’s business involved taking Scandinavian holidaymakers to destinations such as Spain, Greece, Italy, Egypt and Turkey.