The Romanian low-cost airline Blue Air has largely ceased flight operations. The company failed to pay a fine imposed by the Consumer Protection Agency. For this reason, the provisional seizure of bank balances and the blocking of company accounts were ordered by the court. The low coster can no longer pay suppliers.

According to an official statement from Blue Air, flight operations will remain suspended until Monday, September 12, 2022. It is hoped that by then it will be possible to have the garnishment lifted or the account blocked. The fact that Blue Air's financial situation is very tight has long been an open secret.

The carrier has taken its time in refunding ticket money for canceled flights. So much so that the consumer protection authority has imposed a severe penalty. The carrier could apparently do that fine of two million euros did not pay on time and, according to the authorities, also failed to lodge a suspensive appeal or to agree on payment in installments. Therefore, the state office is now taking the tough course of enforcement.

A few days ago, the head of the consumer protection agency ANPC publicly called for a boycott of Blue Air. This certainly brought him criticism, because the airline countered with a criminal complaint for alleged abuse of office. Irrespective of this, the exchange of blows is likely to have had a negative impact on the booking figures.

Blue Air is now announcing that due to the "unforeseeable situation" all flights planned to/from Romania have to be temporarily canceled until September 12, 2022. The reason given was that the suppliers could not be paid due to the account block ordered by the authorities. According to their own statements, they are working on a solution.

Those flights that are planned outside of Romania should be carried out at least for the time being. How long this can be sustained is still an open question.

Suppliers have already insisted on payment in advance

In view of the fact that Blue Air itself admits that it suffered a drop in ticket sales volume of around five million euros as a result of the boycott call, it should not be exactly beneficial that flight operations have to be largely reduced. The carrier also confirms that key suppliers are exerting considerable pressure and insisting that payment be made in advance or in cash. Due to the account blocking, this can no longer be complied with.

“The irresponsible statements and actions of a representative of the Romanian state, as well as the impetuous decision to freeze all the company's bank accounts, put Blue Air in the undesirable situation of reducing its operations for the near future in order to facilitate the completion of the impact analysis on the investor side and obtaining the necessary approvals for discussions with investors,” the company said.