Passengers stranded as airlines collapse

A low-cost airline that began offering long-haul flights from British airports, including Stansted, to the United States earlier this year has collapsed.

Primera Air said it would stop all its operations Monday at midnight, after 14 years of activity.

Two flights to Washington and New York leaving Stansted Monday night have been blocked.

The Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that Primera had ceased operations.

Three Primera flights were in the air Monday night, including one between Birmingham and Malaga, according to Flight Radar.

The Icelandic airline said it had failed to secure long-term financing, which meant it had "no choice" but to file for bankruptcy.

Primera's decision to start competing with other low-cost long-haul operators such as Norwegian and Wow seems to have led to its demise.

Signs that the airline was in trouble came in August, when short flights between Birmingham and seven European destinations ended on 3 September.

He also blamed the late arrival of new Airbus aircraft, which forced him to cancel flights and rent airplanes.

"The weighting of potential losses due to future delivery delays … and in view of the difficult environment faced by airlines due to low prices and high fuel costs, we decided to cease operations now, "said the company.

When it began long-haul operations from Stansted in May, Primera offered flights to Newark, Newark, Boston, Washington DC and Toronto from £ 149 each way.

Most of the airline's activities consisted of taking Scandinavian vacationers to destinations such as Spain, Greece, Italy, Egypt and Turkey.