Nordic Aviation Group files for bankruptcy

Estonian Nordic Aviation Group has filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations of its two airlines, Nordica and Regional Jet, which is branded as Xfly.

The announcement by Nordic follows the decision by potential investor Lars Thuesen, owner of Danish carrier Jettime, to not proceed with a privatisation plan that was initiated last year by the Government of Estonia, Nordic’s owner.

Kadri Land, chairwoman of the supervisory board of Nordic Aviation Group, said that “the potential investor informed us about his intention not to proceed with the privatization, as the associated risks were too high”.

She added: “Consequently, the Management Board informed the Supervisory Board about its intent to cease the operations of Nordic Aviation Group and Xfly and start the necessary proceedings to file for bankruptcy.”

Nordic’s airlines offered ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance) services to major airlines in Europe, as well as charter operations. Headquartered in Tallinn, Nordic also had bases in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Turku, Aarhus, Vilnius, Lisbon, Hamburg, and Munich.

Over its operational period Nordica carried belly cargo in its fleet of Bombardier CRJs, ATR 72s and Airbus A320s.

“Our aim is to hand over the aircraft Nordic Aviation Group and Xfly are using to the lessors at the first possible time, most likely during the upcoming days,” explained Nordic chief executive Remco Althuis, . “This is accompanied by all relevant formalities applicable to bankruptcy proceedings, including notifying the Estonian Unemployment Fund.”

Nordic Aviation’s fate adds to a troubled aviation history for the Estonian government. The Group emerged in 2015 as Estonia’s government looked to a successor for the collapsed flag-carrier Estonian Air.

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