Four planes of Flair Airlines seized in a trade dispute – many flights cancelled

Flair Airlines had four planes seized on Saturday following a trade dispute with a New York-based hedge fund and aircraft lessor Airborne Capital Ltd, leading to flight cancellations.

Alberta-based Flair, a small ultra-low-cost carrier, said the foreclosures were “extreme and unusual actions” for falling behind on its leases, despite the fact that the company has initiated payment. A number of Flair flights were cancelled Saturday morning.

Two planes were seized in Toronto, one in Edmonton and a fourth in Waterloo.

“The airline is aggrieved by this unprecedented action,” a spokesperson for Flair said in a statement. “Flair Airlines has been involved in ongoing communications with the lessor and payment has been initiated, as has been done before.”

Flair said it would use three spare planes to minimise the impact on passengers and did not anticipate any major disruption to its roadmap. “We are very sorry that passengers were affected today and we are taking steps to get them off with minimal disruption,” the spokesperson added.

According to Flair’s website, the airline flies to more than 35 destinations, mostly in Canada but also to some locations in the U.S. and Mexico, since it was launched in 2017.