German airline collapses and cancels all flights
Company blames cash shortage on rising fuel prices, a stronger dollar and high maintenance costs
Berlin — Holiday airline Germania collapsed on Tuesday, succumbing to wider sectoral woes after failing to secure financing to navigate a short-term cash squeeze, cancelling all flights immediately. The insolvency of the German company, which carried 4-million passengers a year, follows the failure of Germany’s second-biggest carrier, Air Berlin, in 2017 and underscores the turbulence in the European airline industry. Britain’s Monarch Airlines and Alitalia also filed for insolvency in 2017, with German charter carrier Small Planet Airlines hitting financial trouble last year after an expansion drive. Germania, founded in 1986, blamed its cash shortage on rising fuel prices, a stronger dollar, delays in integrating new aircraft into its fleet and high maintenance costs. “Unfortunately, we were ultimately unable to bring our financing efforts to cover a short-term liquidity need to a positive conclusion,” CEO Karsten Balke said. The carrier’s 37 aircraft mainly flew German sun-seeker...
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