Wow Air just went bust in yet another blow to the struggling budget airline industry

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• Budget airline Wow Air said it is halting all flights, stranding passengers.
• The 7-year-old Icelandic carrier, known for its bright purple planes and rock-bottom ticket prices, had been struggling with debt.
• It's another blow for a sector that has been hammered in the last few years.

Budget airline Wow Air halted operations on Thursday, stranding thousands of passengers and throwing the industry into more doubt after the collapse of peers.

Wow posted the below on its website on Thursday. Read the whole Wow Air statement here.

Wow Air

The 7-year-old Icelandic carrier, known for its bright purple planes and rock-bottom ticket prices, had been struggling with debt. In January, the company announced a staggering offer: one-way flights from the US to Europe for as little as $49.

A potential merger with Icelandair, that valued the carrier at $18 million to $25 million, broke down in November. The airline slashed 111 jobs in December.

Wow Air had also been discussing potential investment from private-equity firm Indigo Partners, which owns budget airlines Frontier Airlines and JetSmart.

It's another blow for a sector that has been hammered in the last few years. In October, Nordic budget airline Primera Air went under. A year before, Britain's Monarch Airlines went bust amid intense competition for flights and a weak currency. Air Berlin, Germany's second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2017.

Wow said to affected passengers on its site: "In case of a bankruptcy, claims should be filed to the administrator / liquidator."