Viking Airlines Granted Bankruptcy Protection

Viking Airlines has successfully filed for bankruptcy protection in Sweden as it seeks to refinance ahead of a planned re-launch in March. The Swedish-based carrier is in talks with investors and creditors after filing for protection in late November. Travel Weekly understands a court in Stockholm granted the request at the end of last week.

Viking Airlines operated a substantial program from the UK this summer before pulling out of the market in September following the peak-season failures of Turkey specialist Goldtrail Holidays and Kiss Flights.

The demise of the latter was a particular blow for Viking which operated much of the flying program for the seat-only operator. Sister airline Viking Hellas, which is based in Greece, continues to fly from Manchester and is unaffected by the filing. No one from Viking Airlines was available for comment. Among the backers of Viking is Black Perl Investments, the investment vehicle associated with former XL Leisure Group chief executive Phil Wyatt.