Icelandic low-cost carrier PLAY Airlines announced on September 29, 2025, that it is ceasing operations with immediate effect, cancelling all flights and leaving thousands of passengers stranded worldwide.
The board of Fly Play attributed the decision to prolonged financial underperformance, weak ticket sales in recent weeks and internal discontent over strategic changes. It also signalled plans to delist from the Icelandic stock exchange and fully withdraw from the US market.
In autumn 2024, PLAY attempted a turnaround by shifting away from its initial transatlantic hub-and-spoke ambitions. The carrier refocused on European and Canary Islands routes, scaled its US network back to New York Stewart, Boston Logan and Baltimore-Washington, surrendered its Icelandic Air Operator Certificate and relocated key operations to Malta and Lithuania. The board later acknowledged these measures came too late to surmount “deep-rooted challenges”.
The abrupt shutdown forces thousands of travellers to rearrange their return journeys, while around 400 employees face redundancy. PLAY warned that its wider network of business partners will incur significant losses and issued an apology to all affected customers and staff.
Launched in 2021 as a successor to WOW Air, PLAY quickly expanded across Europe and North America but never achieved sustained profitability amid fierce competition and rising operating costs. Its collapse adds to a string of failed Icelandic low-cost ventures struggling for long-term stability.
Play Plane Picture by 4300streetcar
