BUCHAREST - Romanian low cost air carrier Blue Air said on Friday it will cancel all flights until Oct. 10, extending a halt in operations by a month, saying it cannot pay for fuel and other expenses.
Earlier this week, the carrier cancelled over 400 flights scheduled on Sept. 6-11, impacting 54,161 passengers, after the Romanian Environment Ministry blocked its bank accounts for failing to pay a fine.
The ministry has since unfrozen the accounts and restructured debt repayments, but the company said its operations were too damaged.
"The company does not have at this time all the necessary funds to pay for the fuel and other operational expenses indispensable for the flights planned from Sept. 12," it said in a statement.
"The company aims to resume flights starting on Oct. 10. The decision to resume flights decisively takes into account the possibility of the company to reimburse all affected passengers the amounts owed and to pay all commercial partners the costs of the services provided."
The company, which entered a debt restructuring agreement in 2020 as it took a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, operates flights out of Bucharest and the cities of Bacau, Cluj and Iasi.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Alison Williams)