Holiday airline Germania collapses, cancels all flights

Holiday airline Germania collapsed Tuesday and cancelled all flights immediately, the latest to succumb to turbulence in the European airline industry as it failed to secure financing to navigate a short-term cash squeeze. The insolvency of the German company, which carried about 4m passengers a year, followed the failure of Germany’s second-biggest carrier, Air Berlin, in 2017. Germania cited rising fuel prices, a stronger dollar, delays in integrating new aircraft into its fleet and high maintenance costs. “Unfortunately, we were ultimately unable to bring our financing efforts to cover a short-term liquidity need to a positive conclusion,” CEO Karsten Balke said. The carrier’s 37 aircraft mainly flew German sun-seekers to more than 60 destinations in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The Berlin-based company, founded in 1986, also offered flights to less conventional destinations including Iran, Iraq and Armenia. It said all flights had been halted overnight after it filed for bankruptcy late on Monday. A spokesman for the airline’s administrators said it was unclear whether operations could resume and whether the company could continue. CEO Balke thanked Germania’s staff and apologized to passengers who had booked directly and would not be entitled to alternative flights. <br/>