Romania’s Blue Air Temporarily Suspends Flights

Romanian low-cost airline Blue Air on Tuesday announced that it was temporarily suspending operations for at least a week.

According to a statement sent to local media, the airline made the decision after its accounts were seized by the Romania’s Environment Ministry for not complying with its financial obligations to suppliers and failing to pay an almost $2 million fine for canceled flights.

The airline said all returning flights would continue to operate as scheduled on September 6. Once all the aircraft are back in Romania, the airline will then temporarily stop operations until September 12.

Blue Air is suspending all flights from Romanian airports Bucharest Otopeni, Bacau, Cluj Napoca and Iasi.

In its statement, the airline said that it was unable to make payments to any supplier because the government had seized its accounts and therefore is forced to suspend all flights scheduled to depart from Romania.

Moreover, Blue Air informs that the National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) on July 14 issued Blue Air with a $1.97 million (€2 million) fine for canceling more than 11,000 passenger flights between April 30, 2021, and April 30, 2022.

The low-cost carrier was then obliged to compensate customers within a maximum of 10 days. Blue Air refused to pay the fine and said it would take the dispute to the local court.

According to Romanian media, considering the situation due to Blue Air’s announcement to suspend all flights from Romania, the country’s Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism said that passengers who purchased tickets directly from the airline can receive compensation based on European Regulation no. 261/2004.

Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair on Tuesday launched “rescue fares” to accommodate customers affected by Blue Air’s suspension of operations.

In Greece the airline flies to 17 destinations including Athens, Santorini, Crete and Corfu.