Romanian carrier AnimaWings has extended the suspension of all scheduled flights until December 31, after the Bucharest Tribunal opened insolvency proceedings.
The decision leaves the carrier with two Airbus A320-200s and no scheduled programme for the remainder of the year, while its six Airbus A220-300s remain out of service.
AnimaWings announced on September 29 that it would progressively withdraw its six A220-300s because of recurring technical problems, and filed for insolvency the following day.
It suspended flights from October 2, initially until October 24, then extended the suspension to November 15 before the latest extension to December 31.
The Bucharest Tribunal initially rejected the airline’s September 30 application on October 14. AnimaWings filed a second petition, which the court admitted on October 28, placing the company into insolvency proceedings.
The six grounded aircraft are leased A220-300s reportedly from lessors including SMBC Aviation Capital, Air Lease Corporation and Azorra, although AnimaWings has not published a complete, aircraft-by-aircraft lessor list.
The airline has not specified the technical problems behind the A220 withdrawal and has not publicly attributed the decision to engine shortages or parts availability.
The insolvency file lists creditors including Banca Transilvania, Romania’s air navigation service provider ROMATSA,and several Romanian airports.
The court separated insolvency petitions filed by 25 creditors from AnimaWings’s own application and scheduled them for a hearing on November 11.
The tribunal appointed a consortium of CITR Filiala București, Infinexa Restructuring and Popescu & Asociații Insolvency as provisional judicial administrator.
“The proceedings are taking place under the supervision of the appointed judicial administrator, while measures concerning the company’s operations and the management of its existing obligations will be determined within the applicable legal framework,” AnimaWings said in a statement,
The collapse follows a period of rapid expansion. AnimaWings had targeted a fleet of 14 aircraft by the end of 2027 and announced in April that three institutional investors, BT Asset Management, Winners Holding Investments and EVERGENT Investments, would acquire a combined 50% stake.
Whether the airline can restart in 2027 will depend on the November 11 creditor hearing, the administrator’s restructuring plan, and the willingness of A220 lessors to retain or remarket the six grounded aircraft.
