Wow Air Ceases Operations, Cancels Flights From NYC Area

NEW YORK — WOW Air, a discount airline that serves the New York City area, has ceased operations and canceled all flights. The Iceland-based airline known for its bright purple planes and ultra-low fares posted a notice on its website advising travelers to check other airlines for available flights.

"Some airlines may offer flights at a reduced rate, so-called rescue fares, in light of the circumstances," the alert said.

Thousands of people might need those fares. According to Iceland Review, between 2,700 and 4,000 passengers could be stranded in all.

Moreover, The Associated Press reported at least half a dozen planes were grounded in North America that were scheduled to depart Wednesday night from Montreal, Toronto, Boston, Detroit, New York and Baltimore.

Four Wow Air flights to and from Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the New York City area's three major air hubs, had been canceled as of late Thursday morning, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.

In Europe, flights from seven cities — Amsterdam, Dublin, Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Frankfurt and Copenhagen — did not take off Thursday morning.

At least two airlines have agreed to offer so-called rescue fares for stranded travelers, Hungarian airline Wizz Air and Icelandair.

"We offer a special rescue fare for all WOW Air customers whose flights from or to Reykjavík to Warsaw and London Stansted and London Gatwick were cancelled following WOW Air's bankruptcy," Wizz Air tweeted.

Customers can click here to access the fares.

Icelandair said it has set up discounted economy fares for stranded passengers traveling to, from, or through Iceland.

"These fares will only be available for passengers who have already embarked on their journey, and have a return ticket with WOW air between 28 March and 11 April 2019. The fares are subject to availability."

Discounted Icelandair tickets will be $60 to and from Europe, $100 to and from North America, and $160 for transatlantic flights. Those prices do not include taxes or fees.

WOW Air was founded by Skuli Mogensen and began operations in 2012. It focused on providing cheap flights between North America and Europe and flew to cities including Washington, D.C, New York, Paris, London and Reykjavik.

Wow Air's bankruptcy comes after half a year of talks to sell the company. Icelandair and Indigo Partners were both in the discussions, according to AP. The holding company of Icelandair agreed in November to acquire the entire share capital of Wow Air, according to CNBC. That proposal collapsed shortly thereafter and further discussion ended Sunday.

More than 1,000 people worked for the carrier last year and about 3.5 million passengers flew on the airline's 11 planes.

"I will never forgive myself for not acting sooner," Mogensen told employees in a letter Thursday. "WOW was clearly an incredible airline and we were on the path to do amazing things again."

This is a developing story. Hit refresh for updates.

Patch editor Dan Hampton reported this story.