XL Airways France (Paris CDG) has said in a statement that it will suspend operations effective at 1300Z, September 30, 2019, through at least the end of October 3, 2019.
"In collaboration with the French civil aviation authority and the administrators appointed by the relevant French Court, due to its financial difficulties, XL Airways is deeply sorry to have to announce that it is suspending its operations," the airline said.
The French leisure specialist suspended ticket sales and declared insolvency on September 19, 2019. It has since been seeking a rescue deal with investors but so far failed to find an interested party. Air France-KLM, once seen as a potential bidder, explicitly rejected the possibility of getting involved in saving XL Airways.
The holding's CEO Ben Smith said that acquiring XL Airways France or Aigle Azur (Paris Orly), which collapsed recently, would risk upsetting the currently peaceful social relations between Air France-KLM's management and its unions.
The carrier's remaining fleet consists of three A330-200s and one A330-300. All four Airbus widebodies are grounded at Paris CDG airport.
The suspension of XL Airways France's operations is the second such grounding of an airline in France in the last few days after Aigle Azur entered into liquidation on September 27. The European market has also been rocked by the demise of Thomas Cook Airlines UK (Manchester International) while Slovenia's Adria Airways (Ljubljana) is struggling to stay afloat.
