Major European airline plunges into administration – all flights cancelled

Hundreds of staff members were left facing the prospect of redundancy after a budget airline revealed it had gone into administration.

Icelandic carrier PLAY, headquartered in Reykjavík, confirmed it had entered administration and suspended all operations on September 29 last year. A statement posted on the airline’s website declared at the time: “Dear passenger, Fly PLAY hf. has ceased operations, and all flights have been cancelled.”

According to Icelandic media outlet RUV, the decision left roughly 400 workers confronting potential job losses, with the company “trying to pay staff their wages”. It remains unclear whether the affected staff members have received their complete payments.

PLAY was established in July 2019 and commenced operations from its base at Keflavík International Airport, Reykjavik, in June 2021. The airline originally operated to six European destinations: Alicante, Tenerife, London, Paris, Copenhagen and Berlin. PLAY also operated routes between London and Reykjavík, although no seats were available for booking beyond November 1 ahead of the announcement.

The board of PLAY announced in a statement in September: “The board of Fly Play hf. has decided to terminate operations, and all of the company’s flights have been cancelled. The company will work closely with authorities and employees to implement the necessary steps for winding down operations.

“There are many reasons behind this decision. The company’s performance has long fallen short of expectations, ticket sales have been poor in recent weeks and months following negative media coverage, and internal disagreements among some employees regarding strategic changes have further strained the situation.”

Information disclosed by the board pointed to modifications that failed to produce the required outcomes. They added: “Last fall, Play introduced a new business model that initially inspired significant optimism.

“Unfortunately, it has now become clear that these changes cannot deliver the results needed to overcome the airline’s deep-seated financial troubles. In hindsight, these measures would have needed to be implemented much earlier.”