WOW Air Ceases Operations At BWI, Worldwide

BALTIMORE, MD — WOW Air, the airline of choice for those looking to fly on a budget, has ceased operations and canceled all flights, including those at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The Iceland-based airline known for its bright purple planes and ultra-low international fares posted a notice on its website advising travelers to check other airlines for available flights.

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

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

At BWI, one WOW Air flight was slated to arrive from Reykjavik, Iceland, on Thursday, March 28, and another was to depart for the coastal city in Iceland. Both showed as "on time" on BWI's flight tracker Thursday morning.

"WOW Air has ceased operation. All WOW Air flights have been canceled," according to the notice posted to WOW Air's website. "Some airlines may offer flights at a reduced rate, so-called rescue fares, in light of the circumstances."

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

At least two airlines have agreed to offer so-called rescue fares for stranded WOW Air patrons: 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 Stanstead and London Gatwick were cancelled following WOW Air's bankruptcy," Wizz Air tweeted Thursday.

WIZZnews: We offer a special rescue fare for all WOW Air customers whose flights from or to Reykjavík to Warsaw and London Stanstead and London Gatwick were cancelled following WOW Air’s bankruptcy. Special fare bookings: https://t.co/eDw80hGC2k pic.twitter.com/NFXrazMLki
— wizzair.com (@wizzair) March 28, 2019

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.

For information on destinations and booking instructions, please visit https://t.co/2KDZOxcjeC pic.twitter.com/nDLvyK9qWD
— Icelandair (@Icelandair) March 28, 2019

WOW Air encouraged those who purchased tickets by credit card to contact their credit card companies. Read the full notice from WOW Air regarding the end of operation.

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 The Associated Press.

The airline 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 Baltimore, New York, Paris, London and Reykjavik.

"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."

— By Patch editors Dan Hampton and Elizabeth Janney