Dan Air seeks insolvency protection in Romania

At the center of the dispute is Bacău’s George Enescu International Airport, which Dan Air says is owed 1,081,165 lei, or about 204,000 euros. The carrier said the airport is conditioning continued flight operations on payment of that amount, though it did not include a response from the airport operator.

For passengers, Dan Air says nothing changes for now. The company said tickets remain valid and all scheduled flights continue, adding that it does not expect interruptions because it has the backing of Aviator Capital, the lessor that owns the aircraft it uses, and most of its service providers.

The filing matters because it puts another Romanian airline under insolvency proceedings at a time when the local sector is already under strain. AnimaWings filed for insolvency in late September and suspended flights from Oct. 1, later extending the halt to Nov. 15 after its initial request was rejected by the Bucharest Tribunal.

Dan Air is trying to distinguish itself from that outcome by saying it is seeking court protection to preserve operations, not shut them down. The airline also pointed to the collapse of Blue Air in 2022, saying it wants to avoid a similar chain of events in which enforcement actions froze accounts and led to a full suspension of flights.

The pressure is coming against a tougher industry backdrop, including higher kerosene prices in 2026, which Dan Air cited as one of the factors weighing on airlines. The carrier reported 224.2 million lei in revenue and 11.6 million lei in net profit for 2025, with total liabilities of 126.3 million lei, though it said not all of that reflects overdue debt.

Investors will watch whether the court allows reorganization and whether Dan Air can keep creditor pressure from spilling into operations. If the company secures that protection, flights may keep running; if not, Romania’s already fragile airline market could face another service disruption and further pressure on booking demand.