An airline just canceled all flights to the U.S.

The airline launched in 2021 with big plans for expansion in Europe and beyond.

Jun 12, 2025 - 23:02

An airline just canceled all flights to the U.S.

While some airlines have found opportunity in a year marked by high competition and wider economic uncertainty, others failed to emerge from accumulating financial struggles.

After several unsuccessful attempts to get higher bids forced it to give in to the stalking horse offer of $5.5 million from hedge fund firm Argentum Acquisition Co., Florida-based budget airline Silver Airways officially shut down operations and told travelers with booked travel to "not go to the airport" on June 11.

The better name recognition and stronger financial backing of Sprit Airlines (SAVE) helped the fellow Florida low-coster to emerge from bankruptcy just three months after filing for Chapter 11 protection in November 2024. The deal will take Spirit private by converting $795 million of debt into equity and handing control over to a group of its biggest bondholders.

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Launched in 2021 out of the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, budget airline Play Airlines quickly expanded beyond just flying between nearby European cities to longer routes to and from New York, Boston, Baltimore, and Washington.

European capitals to which Play flew from the U.S. included Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin, London, and its flagship Reykjavik's Keflavik International Airport (KEF).

But despite the immediate popularity of particular routes, the low-cost airline announced that it would cut all flights between the U.S. and Europe by October 2025 — the New York Stewart International Airport (SWF) flights will be phased out by September 1, the Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) ones will end on Sept. 15 while the last flight to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) will run on Oct. 24.

"We are not changing who we are — we are simply focusing on what works," Play CEO Einar Örn Ólafsson said in a statement. in which he also announced that he and Vice Chairman Elías Skúli Skúlason would initiate a full takeover that will see the airline delisted from the local stock exchange and undergo a full capital restructuring.

Play launched as an alternative to Icelandair as a low-cost airline connecting the East Coast of the U.S. with several European capitals.
Image source: Shutterstock

Future plans for Play involve closer European routes, aircraft leasing

The plan further involves transitioning Play's network to more flights to sunny destinations in southern Europe from larger cities, as well as leasing its fleet of Airbus A320neo (EADSF) planes to smaller cargo and commercial airlines.

In 2024, Play reported a net loss of over $66 million USD as the transatlantic routes on which it leaned so much of its business strategy at the start underperformed and faced competition from a number of both mainstream and low-cost airlines offering the same service.

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In a hint that further cuts were on the horizon, Play first pulled out of Dulles International Airport (IAD) in Washington D.C. in December 2024 and followed by exiting the John C. Munro Hamilton International (YHM) airport outside of Toronto in April 2025.

"Due to airspace restrictions, several European airlines have redeployed capacity across the Atlantic, leading to overcapacity in the transatlantic market," Ólafsson and Skúlason wrote in documents submitted to Icelandic regulators. "Many carriers have suspended or terminated East Asia routes, facing a competitive disadvantage against Asian airlines still able to overfly Russia. This has increased pressure on transatlantic yields."