https://www.thenational.ae/business...r-bankruptcy-and-cancels-all-flights-1.821963
Germania airline files for bankruptcy and cancels all flights
Company blamed 'unforeseen developments' for its cash shortage
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 aircraft had flown mainly Mediterranean, North African and Middle Eastern holiday routes for German sun-seekers on package trips, and said it transported more than 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 very much regret that, as a consequence, we had no choice but to file for bankruptcy."
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.
Ms Balke said "we especially regret the impact that this step has on our employees", who had done their best to ensure reliable and stable flight operations.
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"I thank you all personally and with all my heart. I apologise to passengers who can not take their Germania flight as planned," said Ms 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 and Bulgarian Eagle, are unaffected, the statement said.
The small carrier's bankruptcy comes after Air Berlin, formerly Germany's second-largest airline, went bust in 2017 after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47127921
Germania airline files for bankruptcy
- 5 February 2019
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Image copyright Reuters
Budget airline Germania has filed for bankruptcy and cancelled all of its flights with immediate effect.
The Berlin-based airline, which flew to destinations across Europe, Africa and the Middle East, transported more than four million passengers a year.
It blamed rising fuel prices and currency fluctuations as two factors.
"We ultimately failed to successfully complete our financing efforts to meet short-term liquidity needs," said managing director Karsten Balke.
"We very much regret that, as a consequence, we had no choice but to file for bankruptcy."
The company said that passengers who had booked flights as part of a package should contact their tour operator to make different arrangements, but added that people who booked directly with them were not entitled to a replacement flight.
It is another blow to the German air industry after the country's second biggest carrier at the time, Air Berlin, filed for insolvency in August 2017.
And it follows more recent problems among other budget carriers.
On Monday, Ryanair posted its first quarterly loss since March 2014, when announcing a net loss of €19.6m (£17.2m) for the last three months of 2018.
And last week, Norwegian Air announced that it wants to raise 3bn Norwegian kroner (£268m) through a rights issue to improve its finances.
Other airlines like Wow and Flybe are looking for buyers.
