PLAY, an Icelandic low-cost airline, has declared bankruptcy and will cease operations from today, September 29th, 2025. This will cancel all booked flights between Alicante-Elche Airport and Reykjavík.
Since early 2025, the company has been reorganising, seeking to reposition its model into a leisure segment that includes sun and beach destinations. The company gradually cancelled all routes to the United States from its Reykjavík-Keflavík hub, as well as other European destinations in the “city trip” sector.
However, poor financial results, a reduction in sales in recent weeks due to market scepticism, and frequent “bad press” around its fragile situation have led to its unexpected shutdown, following in the footsteps of its predecessor, WOW Air.
PLAY operated up to five weekly flights between Alicante and Elche in the summer and expected to maintain three weekly frequency in the winter, therefore its withdrawal creates a connectivity gap with Iceland.
Following the bankruptcy, the airport will only have regular links to Iceland with Icelandair, which conducts annual flights and has recently expanded its frequencies. Neos, an Italian airline, will offer a weekly route from Alicante to Reykjavík during the summer season, especially for Icelandic tour operators. Tickets are also available on the company’s website.
The future of the Icelandic market on the Costa Blanca is uncertain, as PLAY accounted for 60,540 of the 99,047 passengers that travelled between the two countries in 2024, or 61.1% of the total.
Author: Derek Appleton
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