Primera, the budget airline offering long-haul flights from UK ceases operations leaving passengers stranded

A budget airline that began offering long-haul flights from UK airports earlier this year, including Stansted to the US, has collapsed. Primera Air said it was ceasing all operations at midnight on Monday after 14 years of operations.

Would-be passengers have been warned not to turn up for Primera Air flights after the discount airline ceased operations ahead of filing for bankruptcy.

The airline, which had 15 planes, began offering low-cost flights from Stansted and Birmingham to North America – including Washington, Newark, and Toronto – earlier this year.

Flights to Washington and New York due to leave Stansted on Monday night were grounded and passengers have been told not to go to the airport on Tuesday. One flight from Birmingham to Malaga arrived on Monday evening.

Most of the airline’s business involved taking Scandinavian holidaymakers to destinations such as Spain, Greece, Italy, Egypt and Turkey.