WOW air Ceases Operations, All Flights Canceled

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Keflavik-based low-cost WOW air has canceled all flights as the airline announced that it has ceased operations.

It’s been a chaotic week for the Icelandic airline as it canceled a total of 20 flights on Sunday, six on Monday and Tuesday and four on Wednesday, with multiples other delayed.

The troubled Icelandic airline was heavily in debt and has been seeking a backer for months, but last week the Icelandair Group announced that its possible involvement in WOW air’s operations will not materialize.

WOW air was founded by entrepreneur Skúli Mogensen, whose extensive business background is largely in technology and telecoms in Iceland, Europe, and North America.

WOW air’s inaugural flight was to Paris on May 31, 2012 and in October that same year the airline took over the flight operations of Iceland Express. A year later, in October 2013, WOW air was awarded the Air Operator‘s Certificate (AOC) by the Icelandic Transport Authority.

WOW air carried over 400,000 guests in 2013. The airline’s annual passenger number grew from 2.8 million in 2017 to 3.5 million in 2018.

Several airlines share the same fate of WOW air: VLM and Skywork Airlines ceased operations last August, followed by the German arm of Small Planet, Azur Air and Primera Air. Most recently, leisure carrier Germania and British regional airline Flybmi ceased ops this year.