8/27/2015: SkyGreece Airlines Suspends Operations

DALLAS — Today, in 2015, Athens-based SkyGreece Airlines suspended operations.

Founded in 2012 by expatriates from Canada and the United States, SkyGreece entered 2015 with one Boeing 767-300ER and a planned North American schedule. A February 2015 Aviation Week report on the carrier's planned network described proposed services linking Athens (ATH), Thessaloniki (SKG), Zagreb (ZAG), and Budapest (BUD) with Toronto (YYZ), plus a weekly Athens–Montréal (YUL) flight.

The airline's own August 27, 2015 statement said scheduled international service had begun in May. It attributed its decision to temporarily cease operations to financial setbacks it linked to the Greek economic crisis, as well as recent technical issues that had produced a system-wide multi-day delay and additional expenses.

<figure class="w-richtext-figure-type-image w-richtext-align-fullwidth" style="max-width:1000px" data-rt-type="image" data-rt-align="fullwidth" data-rt-max-width="1000px"><div><img alt="" src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/65c26eeea7cdaa706d97a75c/66cdbd938cfbf0132d6d9e23662e94aa163f23fdaf0f1af7skygreece-airlines-2.webp" width="auto" height="auto" loading="auto"></div><figcaption>Some of the airline's newly hired crew pose for a promotional shot in front of its 767. Photo: SkyGreece Airlines</figcaption></figure>

"Financial Setbacks"

In that statement, SkyGreece apologized to affected passengers and said its founders, managers, and employees had been working to maintain the schedule. It described the suspension as temporary and advised passengers to contact their travel agent for alternative travel or accommodation.

The statement recorded what the airline said at the time; it did not establish an independent cause for the suspension. What is clear is the timing: SkyGreece's scheduled international operation had been underway for only a few months when the carrier halted flying.