Air Belgium announced on Monday that it would stop “chronically unprofitable” passenger flights at the beginning of October. She currently exports to South Africa and Mauritius. The company will focus on freight transport and ACMI (aircraft leasing between airlines) for passenger and cargo flights.
She had initially said that around 20,000 travelers had already booked flights after October 3. But now the company is talking about 11,000 passengers. Pre-reservations were initially included, mainly from groups and for the summer of 2024, but no tickets have been issued or paid for yet, it sounds. Air Belgium expects that the number of travelers involved could still decline.
The company says it will “do everything in its power” to refund the tickets. But first the judge must rule on the submitted application for judicial reorganization. If approved, Air Belgium can negotiate a debt reduction with creditors, proceed with a reorganization and reimburse customers.
“Air Belgium understands very well that the decision to discontinue is causing inconvenience to customers and the agencies that have worked with us,” the company said. The Association of European Travel Agencies (ECTAA) had complained on Thursday that a refund would not be made immediately. This also has consequences for travel agencies.