newstodate.aero

May 22, 2023 (newstodate): It's all over: the Icelandic virtual carrier Niceair has filed for bankruptcy, ending an adventure that started with the launch of flights between Akureyri and Copenhagen on June 2, 2022.
   Since then, passenger volumes had grown, and the carrier was to add a third daily frequency on the route from the start of June '23.
   But Niceair's flights with an Airbus A319 operated by the Portuguese ACMI and charter carrier HiFly ended abruptly as the aircraft was arrested at Copenhagen Airport on March 25, 2023, by its lessor due to lack of lease payments by HiFly.
   All staff were made redundant late in April 2023, and the carrier is now a case for lawyers and courts.
   -It is true. Unbelievable, thanks HiFly, says Thorvaldur Ludvik Sigurjonsson, Niceair Mng Dir and a key mover behind the venture.
   Mr Sigurjonsson is also CEO at Circle Air, an Icelandic air tours and charter company operating from Reykjavik and Akureyri, offering sightseeing tours with smaller aircraft.
   Mr Sigurjonsson however remains confident that there is a need for a carrier based at Akureyri to open up for a new stream of tourism in Iceland where the focus has so far centered on the area in the south due to the location of the country's largest airport, Keflavik, and Iceland's capital Reykjavik.
   -Maybe. But for now I need some time to recover and rethink the situation. Let's see after a few months, says Mr Sigurjonsson.