17.12.2019: AtlasGlobal’s website is up and running again and Flights From December 21st onwards are really expected to take place as scheduled! They haven’t, however, explicitly stated how the canceled flights will be compensated. You still have to contact them directly if you were affected.
The Turkish airline AtlasGlobal has canceled all its flights until December 21st and grounded their 13 planes. This is the 9th major airline grounding of 2019, which has been a terrible year for most airlines, especially low-cost carriers. What’s strange about this grounding is that AtlasGlobal hasn’t declared bankruptcy like the other airlines had. Instead, they speak of having “entered a new phase of restructuring in order to provide you a unique flight experience”.
Apparently, the grounding is only temporary, with flights after December 21st still being expected to be carried out. Ticket sales, however, have been suspended until December 16th. This is an extremely unusual situation. It is also absolutely unclear, what the point of this temporary grounding is, and what the “phase of restructuring” consists of.
AtlasGlobal, founded as Atlasjet in 2001, had started having financial trouble after the 2016 Turkish coup d’etat attempt, which had caused a major decline in tourism. The decline of the Turkish Lira and the costs to relocate to the new Istanbul airport had further worsened the situation, and now the airline seems to have decided to stop everything and rethink their strategy to survive.
What Does This Mean for Passengers?
If you have a ticket for an AtlasGlobal flight before December 15th, we’d recommend contacting callcenter@atlasglb.com with your PNR and flight information. The airline declared in their statement, that they will announce their procedure for these cancellations on December 16th. This is sadly very vague, and also means that if you really have to fly before then, you’ll need to book a new ticket on another airline. You can only hope to get a refund.
Even if you have a ticket for a flight after December 21st, you should start making backup plans, as grounded airlines rarely manage to get back into business. It is very likely that this temporary grounding will end up being permanent and end in another airline bankruptcy.
Sources: YHBU, Travelnews – Thanks!
Cover Picture: Ditmar Lange
Comments (10)
Hi,
I had a flight booked for 11th Jan 2020, however was informed on 7th Jan that all flights had been cancelled. What is the best email for claims at AtlasGlobal? As I bought the ticket by credit card, I guess that’s my next step
Regards
Hi Chris, sorry to hear that your flights have been canceled. It really is disappointing when plans for a trip get crushed like this. But since you’ve paid by credit card, the chances are good that you could get back your money. We have an article about chargeback here on our site, in case that helps. As to the AtlasGlobal email address: you can try this one: customer@atlasglb.com. Good luck!
Hello,
I have a return ticket from Stansted to Istanbul on 24.01.2020 and come back on 06.02.2020. I bought my ticket from a travel agency. So far, there are no Atlas jet flights are running. I have travel insurance to claim but how do I get confirmation of this cancellation to support my claim? Do I ask the travel agency?
Thank you.
E.G.
Hi Emine, thanks for reaching out to us! As of now, we are not sure what will happen to AtalsGlobal. But things aren’t looking all that good. If you’ve booked a package tour with the travel agency, you should be able to get your money back. Otherwise, you could be out of luck here. The first step would be contacting the TA as well as AtlasGlobal.
Atlas global cancelled my flight and they haven’t give back my money yet and I dono how can I follow because I need my money
Hi there! Really sorry to hear about your experience. There’s not much we could help you with, unfortunately. You can keep contacting them or search for legal advice from e.g., a lawyer to get your money back.
Dear sir
i heard that flight will started by december 21 in 2019 to istanbul . so plz can u help me to send me a news when they will stated to fly to beyrut adana and adana beyrut , call center send to my email that they want my ticket number , i send it to them and i didn’t get any news till now , my email is nicolasawaraji@gmail.com
best regards
Hi Nicolas,
the flights between Adana and Beyrut are scheduled to depart again on December 21st. If your flight is after that date, it should take place.
Dear sir
i have a ticket on line to 7 dec flight kk1341 for bey to adana , i get email to my phone that is cancelled , what she’ll i do
Hi Nicolas,
I’d recommend sending them an email. And if you really have to fly to Adana, you should buy a ticket with another airline, as AtlasGlobal will definitely not get you there on December 7th