The Austrian airline Niki has gone bankrupt and stopped flying. All flights have been suspended since Thursday, December 14. Niki has not flown to Russia for three years, our Travel.ru correspondent reminds.
The reason was the European Commission's refusal to approve the takeover of the Austrian carrier by the Lufthansa group. In recent months, after the collapse of the parent company Air Berlin, Niki was supported by loans from Lufthansa. However, after the verdict of the European authorities, who feared excessive monopolization of the Austrian and German markets in the hands of the Lufthansa group, the German carrier stopped the financial injections and Niki immediately stopped.
Tens of thousands of passengers were left with her tickets, many of them at Mediterranean resorts. It is expected that they will be evacuated by a joint effort of several Austrian, German and Swiss carriers, with slight deviations from their original plans.
Lufthansa and its group companies are nevertheless planning to take on a significant portion of Niki's staff. They will also in any case inherit a significant portion of the bankrupt company's business.
Source: travel.ru