AnimaWings has extended the suspension of all scheduled flights through Dec. 31 after a Romanian court approved insolvency proceedings for the airline.
The Bucharest Tribunal issued its ruling Oct. 28, placing the proceedings under the supervision of a court-appointed judicial administrator. Decisions about the airline’s operations and existing obligations will now be handled within that process.
“In light of the current circumstances and the ongoing restructuring process, AnimaWings announces the extension of the suspension of all scheduled flights through Dec. 31, 2026, inclusive,” the airline said in a Nov. 3 statement.
AnimaWings stopped flying Oct. 2 and initially planned to return Oct. 25 with a smaller schedule based on available aircraft. That suspension was later extended through Nov. 15, but the airline will now remain grounded for the rest of the year.
The court’s decision followed two attempts by AnimaWings to enter insolvency. Its first application, filed Sept. 30, was rejected Oct. 14. A second application was submitted Oct. 20 and approved eight days later.
The latest extension removes a sizeable amount of capacity that remained in the airline’s schedule. OAG Schedules Analyser data shows AnimaWings had about 124,000 two-way seats filed between Nov. 16 and Dec. 31. Weekly capacity was set to rise from approximately 16,500 seats in mid-November to more than 18,500 during the final week of December.
Much of that flying was to have been domestic. AnimaWings had scheduled about 27,400 seats between Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport and Cluj-Napoca during the seven-week period, as well as 19,600 between Bucharest and Timisoara and 15,300 between Bucharest and Iasi.
Its planned international network included flights from Bucharest to Istanbul, London Gatwick, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Prague, Rotterdam, Geneva, Munich, Stockholm Arlanda and Dubai World Central.
However, alternative options remain on several of the larger routes. Tarom and HiSky compete between Bucharest and Cluj, Timisoara and Oradea, while Air France and Tarom serve the Bucharest-Paris market. Turkish Airlines and Tarom fly between Bucharest and Istanbul, and Prague is served by Wizz Air, Tarom and Smartwings.
Despite this, other markets will be left without nonstop service. Before the original October suspension, seven of AnimaWings’ 18 scheduled routes had no direct competitor: Cluj-Vienna, Cluj-Sharm el-Sheikh, Cluj-Frankfurt, Bucharest-Rotterdam, Bucharest-Sharm el-Sheikh, Bucharest-London Gatwick and Bucharest-Geneva.
AnimaWings offered approximately 827,000 two-way seats during summer 2026, up 91.4% from about 432,000 a year earlier, according to OAG. Scheduled sectors increased from 2,890 to 5,601, while the network grew from 49 to 61 airport pairs.
The airline has attributed part of its financial pressure to recurring technical problems with its six Airbus A220-300s. The aircraft were grounded at the end of September, leaving two A320s available. Two of the A220s were subsequently ferried from Bucharest to Toulouse.
“We sincerely regret the impact of this situation on our passengers’ travel plans and remain committed to providing transparent and timely updates as relevant information becomes available,” the airline said.
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