Iceland’s Fly Play suddenly shuts down, leaving 1,750 passengers stranded

A low cost Icelandic airline “Fly Play” suddenly announced complete shutdown, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.

This is the second low-cost airline service in Iceland that has collapsed in the last six years.

Fly Play ceased operations on Monday and cancelled all the booked tickets with immediate effect.

The airline issued a statement: “Dear passengers, Fly Play has ceased operations and all flights have been cancelled. We kindly advise you to check flights with other airlines. Some carriers may offer special ‘rescue fares’ considering the circumstances.”

The company also issued instructions for passengers about how to claim their refund and apologised, stating: “We are deeply sorry for the disruption this causes and thank you for your understanding.”

According to the New York Times, the airline operated flights between Reykjavik, Iceland and other cities in Europe, Canada and United States.

It has been revealed that the sudden closure left 1750 passengers, scheduled to fly on 12 different flights to destinations including Paris, London and Copenhagen, were left stranded.

According to financial results published in February, the airline’s fleet of 10 planes carried 1.6 million people to 42 destinations. The company’s earning last year was negative $31 million.

Fly Play started operations in 2021 and it was launched to fill the void left by the collapse of WOW Air in 2019.