Wow Air ceases operations, stranding passengers at airports

March 28 (UPI) -- Passengers are stranded on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean as Icelandic budget carrier Wow Air ceased operations and canceled all flights Thursday.

The airline posted a statement to its website advising passengers to book flights with other airlines.

"Wow Air has ceased operation. All Wow Air flights have been canceled," the airline said in a statement. "Some airlines may offer flights at a reduced rate, so called rescue fares, in light of the circumstances. Information on those airlines will be published, when it becomes available."

Norwegian Air and EasyJet were offering reduced fares to stranded travelers.

Customers who bought tickets with a credit card can contact their bank to possibly get a refund. Those who bought tickets in Europe as part of a package tour are protected under the European Union's Package Travel Directive and can get an alternate flight on another airline.

Saurabh Aggarwal was supposed to take Wow Air back to Reykjavik Thursday but instead is stranded in Toronto, she told CNN Passengers were given conflicting information about the flight status and no refunds were issued, she said.

"This really scared everyone, at that point we were finally given back our bags and no money as of now has been issued back to me," Aggarwal told CNN.

Passengers describe "pandemonium at the gate" at Newark Liberty International Airport as passengers tried to get answers.

Wow Air was founded in 2011 as a trans-Atlantic carrier that offered cheap service with no frills. But the airline industry has become increasingly competitive with several European airlines running into trouble.

Primera Air stopped operating in October. Germania filed for bankruptcy in February and British airline Flybmi also stopped flying in February.