Birmingham Airport passengers stranded after Primera Air collapses

And nearly 3,000 more have seen their October travel plans dashed.

Primera Air revealed earlier this summer it was running down its Birmingham Airport flights to five European destinations, aiming to stop them all from the end of this month.

But the discount carrier announced last night it was ceasing all operations immediately ahead of filing for bankruptcy.

Would-be passengers have been told not to turn up for Primera Air flights and Birmingham Airport referred customers to advice from the Civil Aviation Authority, which urged those expecting return flights to the UK with the operator to make fresh arrangements home.

The airline - which has its main offices in Denmark and Latvia - was not covered by the ATOL protection scheme, which only applies to package holidays, so passengers will need to contact their travel agent or travel insurer to arrange flights back.

A Birmingham Airport spokesperson said: “Birmingham Airport is extremely disappointed that Primera Air has ceased flying.

"Primera Air is not covered by the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s ATOL protection scheme as the airline is not registered in the UK. Passengers who have booked a forthcoming flight with Primera Air or who have currently flown should visit the CAA website for advice on travel and refunds: https://tinyurl.com/y7l2qwc7.

“Primera Air has encountered numerous issues with is operation and reliability from Birmingham, and other UK airports, and flights were due to cease on the 29th of this month. We would like to reassure passengers that the majority of routes served by Primera Air can be booked through alternative airlines from Birmingham Airport.”

Since it started operating flights from Birmingham in May, Primera had carried 65,400 passengers.

It operated the New York/Newark route for a month, Malaga, Palma and Chania in Crete from Birmingham. But only the flights to Malaga remained in operation by the start of this month.

The Malaga flight took off yesterday and operated five times a week – Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

It is not known how many passengers from Birmingham are still in Malaga but it is thought to total several hundred.

Another 2,949 more were booked on flights with Primera out of Birmingham up until October 29. Chances of getting their money back from the bankrupt airline are thin, but those who booked with plastic may be able claim from their card provider.

The collapse of the airline comes almost a year to the day after travel firm Monarch went to the wall, leading to the redundancies of nearly 2,000 employees.

More than 110,000 Monarch passengers were left overseas and the Civil Aviation Authority helped repatriate stranded holidaymakers in what transport secretary Chris Grayling called an “unprecedented response to an unprecedented situation.”

The number of Primera Air passengers left stuck by the collapse is reported to be in the thousands, while those who have booked on tours have been urged to contact their agents.

The airline said it was a “sad day” for staff and passengers but it had “no other choice than filing for bankruptcy”.

It is just 15 months since the previously little-known airline suddenly announced plans for a major base at Birmingham, promising to restore transatlantic flights after American carrier United Airlines announced it was quitting the airport.

But Primera's plans have been dogged by disappointment. In June it suspended services from Birmingham to Newark Airport, near New York, and Toronto. It had already abandoned plans for flights to Boston this summer, saying in January they were being abandoned due to poor take up.

And in July Primera Air announced it would be stopping all its seven European short-haul flights from Birmingham Airport.

Flights to Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona stopped on September 3 and routes to Alicante, Las Palma, Malaga, Reykjavik and Tenerife were due to cease on October 29. But it appears to have accelerated the shutdown, leaving only flights to Malaga still operating from Birmingham.

Primera said at the time: “Unfortunately, Primera Air has not seen the demand required on its short-haul winter schedule to make operating from Birmingham Airport commercially viable for the business.

“This is why the airline will unfortunately now cease its short-haul routes from the airport. Earlier in the summer, these flights showed a positive trend.

“However, after getting closer to the departure dates, the sales results didn’t match the forecasted results and this meant it was not commercially viable to fly these routes. All affected passengers have already been informed.”