This morning Iceland's WOW Air announced that it’s stopped operating, meaning it’s cancelled all future flights.
In an update on its website, the airline has advised passengers to book flights with other airlines.
Its website says WOW Air has ceased operations and cancelled all flights. Wow says passengers needing to travel should book with other airlines.
The airline had been in funding talks with investors, and ran flights from London Stansted and Gatwick airports in the UK.
If you’ve been affected, we’re sorry to hear that! Here’s what you need to know.
If you booked through a travel agent, you’re ATOL protected
If you booked your flights through a travel agent as part of a package, then you may be covered by ATOL protection.
When you booked your holiday, you should have got a confirmation certificate. That proves that your travel agent is responsible for your flights and must either arrange alternative flights for you or give you a full refund.
If you're already on your holiday, your travel agent should organise to get you home
If you're abroad and you have ATOL protection, you should contact your travel agent. They should arrange to get you back home, without asking you to pay anything extra.
If you booked your flight with WOW Air or through another third party, you’re not ATOL protected
If you booked your flight straight through WOW Air or through another company, you’re not protected under the ATOL scheme.
So if you want to get a refund for your flights, here’s what you should do:
If you’re already on holiday, you’ll have to book your own flights home.
If you’re already abroad without ATOL protection, you’ll probably need to book flights back with another airline and pay for it yourself.
When airlines go bust, other airlines sometimes offer cheaper flights for stranded passengers (often called ‘rescue fares’). WOW Air said it would publish information on its site if these flights do become available, so keep an eye out for updates.
If you’re insured, you could try to claim back the cost of your flights later.
If you have travel insurance, contact your insurer to make a claim.
Check if your travel insurance covers scheduled airline failure. If it does, you should contact your insurer to make a claim. This is the fastest way to get the cost of your flight back. If your insurer rejects your claim or doesn’t respond to you in 30 days, contact us through in-app chat and we’ll be able to start a chargeback for you.
A chargeback is a process where we dispute a transaction you made with your Monzo card. That means we’ll contact WOW Air’s bank to see if we can get your money back. You can find more about chargebacks and how they work here.
If you don’t have travel insurance or you’re not covered, contact us.
If you don’t have travel insurance, reach out to us through in-app chat and we’ll be able to start a chargeback for you.
A chargeback is a process where we dispute a transaction you made with your Monzo card. That means we’ll contact WOW Air’s bank to see if we can get your money back.
We’ll ask you to send us a screenshot of your booking confirmation.
Unfortunately there’s no guarantee you’ll get your money back. And if the chargeback’s successful, it could take up to 10 weeks before you see the money back in your account.
You can find more about chargebacks and how they work here.
It’s also worth reading Which?’s guide to find out more about your rights when an airline goes bust.
If you've been affected, we'll reach out to you today. Contact us if you have any questions, and we hope you get home safely!