Fears for European airline as all flights are cancelled today

AN airline in Europe has cancelled all flights today, with fears it will go into administration.

It comes just days after Flybe went bust.

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Last week, thousands of passengers were left stranded after UK airline Flybe closed, ceasing all flights.

Norwegian airline Flyr has since said they have been unable to raise cash to continue the start-up, with all flights cancelled today.

The next flight to operate appears to be at 8am on Wednesday although it isn’t clear if these will still go ahead.

In November, Flyr said raising cash was vital for the company to survive the winter season and prepare for a ramp-up in spring and summer of 2023, but it was only able to raise about half the required cash at the time.

The company said it had tried in recent days to secure funding of 330 million Norwegian crowns (£26million) but the effort failed.

In a statement on the website, it states: “Flyr informed Oslo Børs [stock exchange] on Monday morning that the company has not been successful with its new financing plan.

“The company is thus in a serious financial situation, and the board will assess whether there are alternatives for continued operation.”

They added: “The company has no scheduled flights on Tuesday and information about future flights will be shared as soon as possible.

“We fully understand that this situation creates uncertainty among travellers.

“We ask everyone who has booked flights with us to visit www.flyr.com.”

Worried passengers commented on their Facebook page – one person wrote: “Many of us have bought tickets and want INFORMATION on what will happen with the flights in the coming days.”

Another said: “When you advertise flights all the way up to Easter…and then you stand on the verge of bankruptcy.”

The low-cost airline launched in June 2021, with flights across Europe including Spain, Italy and France.

Carrying around 1.6million passengers last year, there were plans for the airline to launch flights to and from the UK.

Flights between Oslo and Edinburgh launched last February although have since been scrapped, and the new Gatwick flights were due to start in March 2023.

Norway currently has its flag carrier Norwegian Air and its budget carrier Norse Atlantic Airways, which launched in 2021, operating flights.

Norwegian was forced to scrap their US flights in 2021 which once offered bargain fares between the UK and New York.

And last year, Norse Atlantic launched cheap flights from London Gatwick to New York.

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