The district court of Hamburg opened insolvency proceedings against the virtual airline Tel Aviv Air GmbH under reference number 67h IN 96/22. According to the compulsory announcement by the court, the proceedings were opened on May 12, 2022 at 12:13 p.m.

There were already signs in advance that things were going badly at Tel Aviv Air. The payment service provider had terminated the cooperation with the company. Therefore, tickets could only be sold against bank transfer. There is no indication on the company's website that it is insolvent. There is only talk of the fact that no flights can be carried out until May 21, 2022 for "technical reasons".

Tel Aviv Air was not an airline, it had no AOC and no operating licence. It chartered aircraft from Enter Air and Tus Airways and marketed the seats on its own account. The business does not seem to have gone well, because the bankruptcy application had to be filed after just a few flights.

The District Court of Hamburg appointed the lawyer Dr. Dietmar Penzlin as provisional insolvency administrator. Furthermore, the court ordered: “Dispositions of the debtor over objects of their assets are only effective with the consent of the provisional insolvency administrator (§ 21 Para. 2 No. 2 2nd Alt. InsO). The debtor's debtors (third-party debtors) are prohibited from paying the debtor. The provisional insolvency administrator is authorized to collect bank balances and other claims of the debtor and to accept incoming funds. The third-party debtors are asked to only pay in compliance with this order (§ 23 Para. 1 Clause 3 InsO). Enforcement measures, including the enforcement of an arrest or an injunction against the debtor, are prohibited unless immovable property is involved; Measures that have already been started will be discontinued for the time being (§ 21 Para. 2 No. 3 InsO)".

It is currently unclear whether Tel Aviv Air can continue or not. In the past, so-called virtual airlines have almost never managed to recover from bankruptcy filings. It is not yet known to what extent there are assets that can be used in favor of the creditors. The liquidator must first get an overview.