Sweden’s Novair has filed for bankruptcy, having ceased operations on October 9 afetr losing a contract with the Apollo holiday group.
Both of Novair’s A321s are leased from Air Lease Corporation.
Novair was established in 1997 and initially offered services from Stockholm to Phuket, Thailand, and the Canary Islands of Spain. Novair expanded its fleet and destinations, operating aircraft such as Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, Boeing 737-800, Airbus A330-200, and Airbus A321-200.
In recent years, Novair was rocked to close crew bases. In October it ceased flying due to a negative business perspective.
Major airline failures so far in 2023 incldue:
- Aeromar (Mexico): Aeromar, a Mexican airline, had been in the market for 35 years before closing down. They failed to renegotiate outstanding debts. At the time of closure, they operated a fleet of ATR turboprops.
- Cascadia Air (Canada): Cascadia Air was a small local and regional operator in British Columbia, Canada. They operated Piper Navajo Chieftains and King Air C90s turboprops. Unfortunately, they had to shut down and cease all operations.
- Flybe (UK): Flybe, a UK-based airline, has faced bankruptcy for the second time in two years. Despite revival, they couldn’t consolidate and went out of business again.
- Flyr (Norway): Flyr was a young airline launched in 2021 by a team of ex-Norwegian executives. They had liquidity problems, which led to their demise. Flyr operated Boeing 737 aircraft from Oslo.
- Niceair (Iceland): Niceair, a virtual carrier based in Iceland, had to cancel all flights temporarily. They subcontracted flying to HiFly but faced issues when HiFly’s assigned aircraft became unavailable.
- Novair (Sweden): Novair, a Denmark-owned leisure charter operator based in Sweden, had been in operation for 25 years. They lost a contract with their main customer, Apollo, making it impossible for Novair to continue.
- Ultra Air (Colombia): Ultra Air, a Colombian low-cost airline, shut down after barely a year in operation. A failed acquisition by JetSmart and financial difficulties led to their closure. They operated a fleet of 6 Airbus A320 aircraft.
- Viva Air (Colombia): Viva Air, a Colombian airline, suspended all flights due to a complicated financial situation. Avianca is considering acquiring Viva Air, but the outcome is uncertain.
