Budget airline seeks to limit disruption after 4 planes were reportedly seized by a New York-based hedge fund in an 'extreme and unusual' move

• Canadian budget carrier Flair Airlines had four planes seized by a hedge fund, per reports.
• A spokesperson described the incident as an "extreme and unusual" action by the aircraft lessor.

Canadian low-cost carrier Flair Airlines had four planes seized by a New York-based hedge fund at the weekend, which impacted its services, multiple local media outlets reported.

A spokesperson for the airline described the incident as an "extreme and unusual" action taken by a New York-based lessor of the aircraft. They said in a statement to Insider: "This is a commercial dispute, which has impacted four of Flair Airlines' aircraft."

An unnamed source told Canada's Global News the airline had been five days behind on payments worth roughly $1 million.

A spokesperson for Flair Airlines told Insider that payment had been initiated and the airline was in ongoing communications with the lessor to remedy the situation.

Flair said services were impacted by the disruption but did not specify how many flights were affected. Referring to customers, a spokesperson said: "We have rebooked their flights with Flair Airlines, or another airline, at no additional cost, and alternatively, customers can rebook their own travel and receive a reimbursement within seven days."

The airline has also taken steps to bring another four aircraft into operation to limit disruption, the spokesperson said.

"We fully anticipate we will fly our existing schedule, and are working expeditiously to do that. We do not foresee any major disruptions to our route map. Customers with bookings in the coming weeks do not need to be concerned," they said.