Canada Jetlines (AU, Toronto Pearson) has announced it will suspend operations on August 15 due to its inability to secure necessary financing despite exploring all available options. The airline plans to file for creditor protection, with further details to be provided.

Under the oversight of an independent board committee and external advisors, the company had been unable to raise sufficient funds through debt, equity, or strategic transactions, it said in a statement. "Unfortunately, despite these efforts, the company has been unable to obtain the financing required to continue operations at this time." It said passengers with bookings should contact their credit card companies for refunds.

Three of four A320-200s wet-leased to Air Arabia Maroc (3O, Casablanca Mohamed V) and Corendon Dutch Airlines (CD, Amsterdam Schiphol), respectively, were being ferried back to Canada on August 15, according to ADS-B data, while the fourth, C-GCJK (msn 5995), was parked in Fes Saïss. The aircraft are owned by CCB Financial Leasing, Jackson Square Aviation, FTAI Aviation, and Aviation Capital Group respectively, ch-aviation fleets data confirms.

The news came days after the airline announced the resignations of CEO Brigitte Goersch and board members Ryan Goepel, Beth Horowitz, and Shawn Klerer on August 12. The company has historically financed its future requirements through a combination of debt, equity, or other facilities. As a result, it needed to raise additional capital to continue operations.

However, travel industry news site Gate Checked reported that, in a memo on August 14, management had informed staff that the airline was expected to announce that it would soon cease operations.

ch-aviation has reached out to the airline for comment.

In June, the airline had secured a loan for CAD2 million Canadian dollars (USD1.5 million) to repay an existing CAD2 million non-convertible term loan with Square Financial Investment Corporation (SFIC) and for general corporate and working capital purposes.

The airline had also been exploring other ways to raise capital. In April, it was exploring listing on the New York Stock Exchange. In January, Canada Jetlines closed its raising of USD13.5 million in a non-brokered private placement with Jetstream Aviation (Canada), the owner of about 50% of the issued and outstanding shares of the leisure-focused airline.

Canada Jetlines had reported a CAD 8.7 million (USD6.4 million) net loss for 2023, an improvement from the CAD12.6 million (USD 9.2 million) loss in 2022.

The airline specialises in ferrying sun-starved Canadians to warmer leisure destinations during the winter and utilises its fleet to support European operators through ACMI contracts during the summer.