Low-cost airline Germania files for bankruptcy
Germania
05 Feb 2019
/ 10:07
Germania, which started flying to Greece two years ago, announced on its website today that it has filed for bankruptcy.
The airline has cancelled all its planned flights.
The low-cost airline based in Berlin has a fleet of 37 aircraft and operated mainly with passengers from Germany and Switzerland travelling to tourist destinations in the Mediterranean and Middle East. In June 2017 it started flying to Athens from Nuremberg and Bremen and collaborated with the Grek airline Sky Express.
It also had flights from Toulouse in France, Arlanda Airport in Stockholm and London Gatwick. The airline had an annual figure of over 4 million passengers.
The German company explained that it was unable to obtain the necessary funds to "cover a short-term liquidity need to a positive conclusion".
"Our only option was to file for insolvency," said CEO Karsten Balke, apologising first of all to "our employees" and to passengers who have already purchased tickets for Germania flights.
Those Passengers affected by the suspension of flight operations who booked their Germania flight as part of a package holiday "can contact their respective tour operator in order to organize substitute carriage," the company said, adding that for passengers "who have booked directly with Germania, there is unfortunately no entitlement to substitute carriage".
Mr. Balke said that "Unforeseeable events such as massive increases in fuel prices last summer and the simultaneous weakening of the euro against the US dollar, considerable delays in phasing aircraft into the fleet and an unusually high number of maintenance events that the airline’s aircraft required were major burdens for the company."
The low-cost airline based in Berlin has a fleet of 37 aircraft and operated mainly with passengers from Germany and Switzerland travelling to tourist destinations in the Mediterranean and Middle East. In June 2017 it started flying to Athens from Nuremberg and Bremen and collaborated with the Grek airline Sky Express.
It also had flights from Toulouse in France, Arlanda Airport in Stockholm and London Gatwick. The airline had an annual figure of over 4 million passengers.
The German company explained that it was unable to obtain the necessary funds to "cover a short-term liquidity need to a positive conclusion".
"Our only option was to file for insolvency," said CEO Karsten Balke, apologising first of all to "our employees" and to passengers who have already purchased tickets for Germania flights.
Those Passengers affected by the suspension of flight operations who booked their Germania flight as part of a package holiday "can contact their respective tour operator in order to organize substitute carriage," the company said, adding that for passengers "who have booked directly with Germania, there is unfortunately no entitlement to substitute carriage".
Mr. Balke said that "Unforeseeable events such as massive increases in fuel prices last summer and the simultaneous weakening of the euro against the US dollar, considerable delays in phasing aircraft into the fleet and an unusually high number of maintenance events that the airline’s aircraft required were major burdens for the company."
Source: news247.gr
