The Austrian airline Niki has gone bankrupt and ceased operations. All flights have been suspended since Thursday, December 14. Niki has not flown to Russia for three years, according to a Travel.ru correspondent.
The reason was the European Commission's refusal to approve the takeover of the Austrian carrier by the Lufthansa group. In recent months, following the collapse of its parent company, Air Berlin, Niki's operations were supported by loans from Lufthansa. However, following a ruling by European authorities, who feared excessive monopolization of the Austrian and German markets by Lufthansa, the German carrier halted its financial injections, and Niki ground to a halt.
Tens of thousands of passengers remained with her tickets, many of them at Mediterranean resorts. It is expected that they will be evacuated through a joint effort by several Austrian, German, and Swiss carriers, with slight deviations from their original plans.
Lufthansa and its group companies nevertheless plan to hire 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