Play to suspend transatlantic flights and connecting routes

Icelandic budget carrier Play is to drop all transatlantic routes in a major retrenchment.

The airline confirmed that all north Atlantic services would cease from October, while other points in northern Europe served from Iceland would be reduced.

Play currently runs flights from Stansted and Liverpool to Reykjavik and onward to New York, Washington DC and Baltimore.

The restructure, as two of the largest shareholders in the airline plan to make a takeover offer, will see the fleet cut from 10 to four. Six will be leased out and the remainder will mainly serve “sunny destinations”.

A statement said: “With these changes, the takeover group aims to strengthen the company’s focus on profitable operations, including flights to sunny destinations and aircraft leasing, while discontinuing the less successful parts of the business - namely, US flights and connecting services.

“The acquiring entity will be funded with a minimum investment of $20 million, of which commitments have already been secured for more than one-third.”

Chief executive Einar Orn Olafsson said: “This is primarily a plan for practical changes to the operations of the Icelandic airline PLAY. 

“We’re focusing on the profitable aspects of the business - sun destination flights - and discontinuing those that have not yielded results.

“We look forward to continuing to foster competition in the aviation market with our red aircraft and Icelandic crews. Our main goal remains to offer Icelanders affordable flights to the sun.”