Airline Germania files for bankruptcy
BERLIN-BASED airline Germania has filed for bankruptcy and cancelled all flights with immediate effect, the company said early on Tuesday.
The airline with 37 aircrafts had flown mainly Mediterranean, North African and Middle Eastern holiday routes for German sun-seekers on package trips, and said it transported over four million passengers a year.
“Unfortunately, we ultimately failed to successfully complete our financing efforts to meet short-term liquidity needs,” said managing director Karsten Balke in a statement.
“We ver y much regret that, as a consequence, we had no choice but to file for bankr uptcy.”
The company blamed “unforeseen developments” for its cash shortage such as “steep kerosene price increases over the summer of last year with a simultaneous fall of the euro against the US dollar” as well as a high number of technical services required by its fleet of aircraft.
Balke said that “we especially regret the impact that this step has on our employ- ees”, who had done their best to ensure reliable and stable flight operations.
“I thank you all personally and with all my heart. I apologise to passengers who cannot take their Germania flight as planned,” said Balke.
The ailing company, which had reported financial woes in January, said it had filed for bankruptcy with a Berlin court late on Monday and that all flights were halted overnight.
Affected passengers who booked as part of a package holiday were told to contact their tour operator for replacement flights.
“Regrettably, for passengers who purchased their ticket directly from Germania, there is no entitlement to replacement transport due to the current legal situation,” the airline said.
The company’s subsidiaries Swiss Germania Flug AG and Bulgarian Eagle were not affected, the statement said.
The small carrier’s bankruptcy comes after Air Berlin, formerly Germany’s secondlargest airline, went bust in 2017 after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses.