Iceland's Niceair suspends ops, Hi Fly refutes accusations

Icelandic authority says Hi Fly, not Niceair, to pay damages

Iceland’s Niceair to file for bankruptcy

Niceair (Akureyri) has said in a statement that it plans to file for bankruptcy and that all claims will now go through the legal process. It placed the blame squarely on Hi Fly Malta (3L, Malta International), from which it wet-leased its only aircraft.

At the end of March, Hi Fly Malta appeared to take the step of retiring its only narrowbody, A319-100 9H-XFW (msn 3689), a twinjet that had been dedicated to the Icelandic virtual carrier since its launch in June 2022. That forced Niceair to suspend all flight operations. ch-aviation saw documents confirming that lessor Avolon had repossessed the aircraft from the production carrier. Niceair blamed Hi Fly Malta for not keeping up with its lease payments, an allegation the Maltese ACMI/charter specialist denied, instead blaming Niceair for non-compliance with the contract’s terms.

“These were in every way uncontrollable reasons. This closure is particularly tragic as there were good grounds and experience had shown that there was a basis for direct international flights through...

Editorial Comment: Added Hi Fly comment - 23.05.2023 - 11:20 UTC

Iceland's Niceair lays off staff but looks for options

Hi Fly Malta returns sole A319 to service