Novair files for bankruptcy

Swedish charter airline Novair has filed for bankruptcy after it lost its contract with tour-operator Apollo. The news was reported by Danish aviation news site Check-in on 24 November 2023, while the airline carried out its last flight on 9 October 2023.

The airline was operating two Airbus A321neos, which have been returned to their lessors. A321-251N SE-RKA (7746) was ferried to Prague on 14 September 2023 and has been registered as OE-IHX by Air Lease Corporation on 21 November 2023. Sister A321-251N SE-RKB (7807) is also at Prague and arrived there on 9 October 2023. It has been registered by Air Lease Corporation as OE-IIJ on 21 November 2023 as well.

Novair was founded in 1997 and launched operations in November that year. During its years it operated a diverse fleet that started with two Lockheed L-1011-500s and several A320s leased from Irish airline TransAer. In total, the airline operated 26 different aircraft between 1997 and 2023, consisting of six A320s, three A321s, the forementioned two A321neos, six A330-200s, one Boeing B737-300, and three B737-800s.

Originally, Novair was launched and owned by Apollo, one of Sweden's largest travel agencies. In 2018 it became part of DER Touristik, and since 2021 the airline was owned by the Jet Nordic Group, the owner of Danish airline Jet Time.

Photo by Airbus.